As we moved into the third day of the TikTokalypse, the app appears to have finally stabilized in the US, as we verified that it’s possible to consistently publish new videos and even have other people watch them. That hasn’t been a simple task since the service started having problems early Sunday morning, but on Tuesday morning, I was able to post a new short video and watch one published by my colleague in the UK.
A statement from TikTok USDS, the new Trump admin-assigned owners and operators of the brand in the United States, said it has “made significant progress in recovering our U.S. infrastructure” with its still-unnamed US data center partner. It also noted that US users may continue to experience some bugs, particularly when it comes to posting new content. While I am able to see videos from outside the US, a newly-created UK account failed to load, as well as a number of other profiles.
TikTok USDS has said that the problem started due to a power outage at a data center, followed by a “cascading systems failure.” In the meantime, theories and rumors have swirled about TikTok’s new terms of service, the goals of its new owners, how the algorithm in the US may be manipulated, and the possibility of censorship around topics like ICE’s actions in Minneapolis and Jeffrey Epstein. A number of people have said they’re leaving the service and deleting their accounts, while some have suggested using different apps like UpScrolled.
How any of that may have changed behind the scenes or may change in the future is impossible to tell without a much broader analysis, but the service does appear to be operational again, brainrot videos and all.
TikTok USDS:
We’ve made significant progress in recovering our U.S. infrastructure with our U.S. data center partner. However, the U.S. user experience may still have some technical issues, including when posting new content. We’re committed to bringing TikTok back to its full capacity as soon as possible. We’ll continue to provide updates. Thanks for your patience.