TikTok Says Recent App Glitches Were Caused by U.S. Data Center Power Outage

As winter storms swept across large parts of the United States on Sunday, TikTok users began reporting widespread problems with the app, including difficulty loading comments and irregular behaviour from the For You page recommendation system. For some users, those issues have continued into the following days.

The disruptions coincided with the formal launch last week of a newly established U.S.-based TikTok entity, a restructuring required by the U.S. government over concerns that the Chinese government could access user data through TikTok's parent company, ByteDance. Under the new arrangement, ByteDance now holds less than 20% ownership of the TikTok USDS Joint Venture, while Oracle, Silver Lake, and MGX each own 15%.

Despite the timing, TikTok USDS said the technical problems stemmed from a power outage at a U.S. data centre. In a post on X, the company said it had been working to restore services after the outage disrupted TikTok and other apps it operates.

"Since yesterday, we've been working to restore our services following a power outage at a U.S. data centre impacting TikTok and other apps we operate," the company said. "We're "with our data centre partner to stabilise our service. We're sorry for this disruption and hope to resolve it soon."

Since yesterday we’ve been working to restore our services following a power outage at a U.S. data center impacting TikTok and other apps we operate. We're working with our data center partner to stabilize our service. We're sorry for this disruption and hope to resolve it soon. — TikTok USDS Joint Venture (@tiktokusdsjv) January 26, 2026

Data from Downdetector, which tracks user-reported service outages, showed reports coming in from users across the country.

TikTok'TikTok'sation appears plausible, as more than one million people across the U.S. have experienced power outages following severe weather from the storm. Still, some users have questioned the cause, given how soon the problems emerged after the U.S. joint venture was finalised.

The service disruption also coincided with ongoing protests in Minneapolis, Minnesota, where thousands of ICE agents have been deployed since early January in what ICE Acting Director Todd Lyons described as the "largest" immigration operation ever."

On Saturday, Border Patrol agents shot and killed Alex Pretti, marking the second civilian killing by ICE-linked forces in Minneapolis this month.

Following the shooting, some TikTok users said they encountered difficulty searching for information related to events in Minneapolis. The platforms' fueled concerns among users that the issues could be tied to government censorship. TikTok, however, attributed the search and content problems to the same data centre outage.

Over the weekend, users also raised concerns about recent updates to TikTok's policy, which include language allowing the company to collect data on users' characteristics, including sexual orientation, gender identity, and immigration status. However, as previously reported by TechAmerica, much of this language is not new and had appeared in earlier versions of the policy, essentially to comply with California's Privacy Act.

While the timing of TikTok's issues and privacy policy updates may be coincidental, the situation has heightened users' concerns. In moments of political unrest, worries about social media surveillance and access to information remain especially sensitive.