GEOFF BENNETT: Just days after a group# of mainly American investors approved by## President Donald Trump took over control# of TikTok's U.S.

operations, some users## now say the app is censoring and limiting# their content, including posts and messages## about Jeffrey Epstein and the shooting deaths of# U.S.

citizens by federal agents in Minneapolis.

One content creator says his U.S.-based followers## couldn't access his post about# the shooting death of Renee Good.

MAN: So, this is how it should appear.# The latest video under my three pinned## videos is the ICE shooting analysis.# But this is what my page looks like,## according to people who message me.

And# even weirder, this is how it appears in## their watch history, a blank square.

The red# X-mark is just them pointing it out to me.

GEOFF BENNETT: And California# State Senator Scott Wiener said## TikTok wouldn't let him share this# post about ICE for several hours.

STATE SEN.

SCOTT WIENER (D-CA): I am advancing# a bill now to say that, in California,## it's not going to be just local and# state law enforcement who can be## sued if they violate your rights,# but federal agents can as well.

GEOFF BENNETT: California Governor Gavin# Newsom announced a new state investigation## to determine whether TikTok is violating state law# by censoring content critical of President Trump.

The company issued a statement today saying it# had suffered a cascading systems failure that## had caused multiple bugs on the platform after# a power outage at one of its U.S.

data centers.

For more, we're joined by tech journalist# Jacob Ward, host of "The Rip Current" podcast.

Welcome back to the "News Hour," Jacob.

JACOB WARD, Founder, The Rip Current:# Hey, Geoff.

Great to be with you.

GEOFF BENNETT: So you have# a lot of politically engaged## users now saying they feel censored# on TikTok, videos getting zero views,## their reach suddenly disappearing.

Based# on your reporting, what is going on here?

JACOB WARD: Well, I mean, I think, on the# one hand, it's important to just remember,## in the context of American# public discourse, right,## that the way we communicate with one another is# controlled by a handful of private companies.

And, as a result, we don't get to# know.

So, Geoff, we don't really know,## is there some sort of censorship going# on here?

Or is this, as TikTok's new## ownership says, a cascading failure that# originated from one of its data centers?

What I can say is that it seems as if every# kind of creator trying to post content,## whether they were cooks or makeup artists or# political content creators, none of them could## post for a while there.

And so it doesn't# seem like it's specifically aimed at it.

But if you're someone whose work is# consistently something that speaks## out against the government at the moment,# then you're going to feel particularly## persecuted.

But it seems that it sort of# went across everybody.

So at the moment,## this doesn't feel like it was an# intentional piece of censorship.

I think this ownership group is too# newly in charge to make that kind of## move.

But that's not to be confused# with the idea that they couldn't do## that.

I think the capability of doing so# is incredibly powerful and worth watching.

GEOFF BENNETT: Well, let's talk more about# that, because people point to Elon Musk's## takeover of Twitter, now X, as an example of# how ownership can reshape a platform's ideology.

So, given how this deal came# together and who approved it,## is TikTok vulnerable to that same kind of shift?

JACOB WARD: Yes, well, Musk, right,# rewrote the rules of what any of## us expect as to how ownership of a major# communications platform would work, right?

And so you're absolutely right to bring# him up because he really sort of, like,## changed the change the game.

And now we're in# a world where close allies of the president## of the United States now are co-owners of this# incredibly powerful and influential platform.

And what they have bought from this Chinese# consortium and sort of in partnership with## this Chinese consortium is a very sophisticated# system for censoring anything you want.

Because## this thing had its origins in China, it# has incredible capabilities to detect## in real time whether you're saying# things it doesn't want you to say.

I have been in the position of making# reference to the Nazis during World War## II.

And the word Nazi can get you kicked# off of a livestream or get the reach of## your post put away.

So it's very easy to do# so.

I don't think it's happening right now,## but if in future they decided to do what Musk# decided to do, they would have every kind of## controls available to them to pull that off,# because that is exactly how TikTok is built.

GEOFF BENNETT: And TikTok recently updated its## terms of service.

So what should# users of this platform understand?

JACOB WARD: Yes, in many ways, they have# just sort of rewritten a more broad set of## language for capabilities that the# platform seems to have had before.

But, for instance, they're saying that they# can much more precisely track your location.## You can turn that off in your device settings# on your phone.

They also say that they will## be able to follow you elsewhere when you# are elsewhere off of the platform.

They## can send advertising out to get you.

So# that's something you can also turn off.

But all of this, I think we should remember,# is pretty standard-issue for the surveillance## capitalist world we are in currently.

All# of these platforms are trying to do the## same kind of stuff.

Just this is a more explicitly# spelled-out thing in the terms of services, Geoff.

GEOFF BENNETT: And, separately, Jacob TikTok# has reached a settlement to avoid being involved## in this landmark social media addiction# trial.

What more should we know about that?

JACOB WARD: That is such an incredibly big deal# in my world, that I have been waiting for this## trial to start because of the incredible amount of# documentation that has come out already in this.

And so TikTok and Snap, the maker of Snapchat,# those two have settled, which leaves Google,## YouTube and Meta, which is Facebook# and Instagram.

And incredible stuff## is already coming out that shows not# only did these companies deeply value## the business -- the business value of kids# was an enormous thing for these companies.

And they were aware of harms to kids for years# and years and years without necessarily acting## on them.

The companies, of course, say that# they are always trying to make improvements.## But the discovery we are seeing here is# going to give us a view into how social## media has worked and worked especially on the# minds of children for many years here, Geoff.

GEOFF BENNETT: Jacob Ward, host of "The# Rip Current" podcast, always a pleasure.

JACOB WARD: Appreciate it, Geoff.