tech
February 3, 2026
Disastrous start for US TikTok as users cry censorship
New US-owned app struggled with a storm and was accused of blocking content critical of Trump – can it recover?
TL;DR
- A Guardian story highlighted tech giants delaying investigations in child abuse and drug cases, prompting Colorado lawmakers to introduce a bill for faster warrant responses.
- TikTok faced a major outage and user backlash after its parent company ByteDance finalized a sale to US investors, altering its privacy policy.
- A winter storm and federal immigration events impacted TikTok's operations, with users experiencing upload failures and zero views, leading to accusations of censorship.
- California's governor announced an investigation into TikTok's alleged suppression of content critical of Donald Trump.
- The exodus from TikTok has propelled a competitor, Upscrolled, to top app store rankings.
- Two plays, "Marjorie Prime" and "Data," showcase shifting collective anxieties about technology, from AI companions for grief to clandestine government data analysis.
- "Marjorie Prime" explores the emotional consequences of AI replicas of deceased loved ones, while "Data" delves into the ethical dilemmas of working in government data analytics.
- The plays highlight a shift in concerns from science fiction to the reality of technological integration and its impact on ethics and daily life.
- Both plays ultimately question how individuals cope with overwhelming circumstances, whether personal grief or moral compromise in the face of corporate or governmental pressures.
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