Just over a year ago, the Supreme Court heard arguments to ban TikTok if the app did not get an American ownership. Now in 2026, the app has officially entered a new deal with an American-owned joint venture.
And several users are already expressing difficulties since it's transition on Jan. 22.
Tens of thousands of TikTok users reported issues starting on Sunday, Jan. 24, from app malfunction, errors with their feed or just a total outage, according to Downdectector.
Now after almost a week, users are stating that posts are unable to be made, recently made posts are being hidden and posts they are seeing are months old.
Here's what to know about what's going on with TikTok this week, why it's not working and what the new privacy and terms all mean.
TikTok having issues? Here's what other users report
Over 35,000 users reported issues with TikTok at 4:04 a.m. Jan. 25, according to DownDetector. The reported number on the site has since decreased to 1,034 users as of 1:50 p.m. Monday, with some users still experiencing disruptions.
With 60% of the input, app malfunctions are the main problem with the social networking app. The remaining 40% was divided between feed/timeline, or For You Page, geared issues and a total outage.
On the app, users express the inability to watch recently posted videos, citing a disparity in view counts before and after the new deal went into place.
Downdector also reported that users are seeing posts that aren't registering comments, profiles are unable to load and even just delay in video.
According to reports from the BBC , new owners TikTok USDS Joint Venture LLC shared that the app is "working to restore our services." The outage appears to have followed a power outage at the U.S. data center, BBC reports.
Who owns TikTok now?
ByteDance, TikTok's parent company headquartered in Haidian, Beijing, finalized a deal Jan. 22, setting up the company as a joint venture that is majority American-owned, avoiding a U.S. ban of the app.
Per the agreement, American and global investors, including Trump-backed investors like Oracle and MGX, will hold a stake of 80.1 percent, while ByteDance retains 19.9 percent of the company.
New Terms, Privacy policy with Tiktok
There were sweeping changes amde to TikTik's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy that came with the purchase on January 22.
"We're updating our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy (both as linked) effective January 22, 2026 to reflect changes including our updated corporate entity," the TikTok website read. "By clicking below, you agree to these changes. If you are under 18, you also confirm that your parent or guardian has reviewed them with you and agreed to them."
According to The New York Times , the new privacy policy will allow TikTok the ability to collect approximate or precise location information, if users allow. Previously, at least one version of the app did not collect precise location information, but if another version had granted permission, TikTok might collect that information.
Another change came in TikTok's targeted advertising terms. The pop-up message that greeted users said the new terms would change how people saw "ads outside [of] TikTok."
The new language enables TikTok to use data collected to show customized ads and other sponsored content on and off the scrolling app, the Times reports.
While the above were alterations, the newest change is an addition to the terms and conditions.
The new language around generative AI on TikTok forbids people from implying that any AI-generated content is real, such as by removing watermarks and metadata to help muddy the waters.
Contributing: Ashley Ferrer
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Why is TikTok down? Users report issues after new ownership deal
