TikTok is investigating why some users can't write 'Epstein' in messages

[babylonsister]

TikTok is investigating why some users can't write 'Epstein' in messages
January 27, 20261:30 AM ET
Bobby Allyn


Officials at TikTok say they are looking into why many users have been unable to send the word "Epstein" in direct messages, an issue that garnered widespread attention on social media Monday and prompted California Gov. Gavin Newsom to announce an inquiry into the matter.

"We don't have rules against sharing the name 'Epstein' in direct messages and are investigating why some users are experiencing issues," a spokesman for TikTok's U.S. operation told NPR in a statement.

The timing isn't lost on anyone.

It comes just days after TikTok finalized a sale that gave a consortium of mostly American investors control of TikTok's business in the U.S, a deal that averted a nationwide ban of the app over national security concerns tied to its Chinese parent company.

more...
https://www.npr.org/2026/01/27/nx-s1-5689104/tiktok-epstein-direct-messages

[pinkstarburst]

1. They're taking over all the social media

channels that young people use to get important information out. It's easy to say "oh, it's just stupid tiktoks" but we saw this happen with twitter. It was taken over and destroyed by EM, and now is a right wing wasteland. Now they're doing the same thing with tiktok, which just updated its terms and conditions to say they can track your phone, all sorts of scary stuff about recording and storing anything you post about sexuality, medical conditions, etc. So people are deleting that, too, and I get it, because it's likely going to turn into a right wing controlled site, but we need to be concerned about this. When these primary social media channels disappear, there isn't always something just as good that pops up in their place. Bluesky's algorithm is a mess and it doesn't have nearly the reach of Twitter, and I don't like the idea of IG, Threads and FB all being controlled by Meta because it's all too easy for a single ban or a single authoritarian change in rules to wipe out 3 major communication methods.

We should be concerned about this.