TikTok works to restore U.S. infrastructure after power outage

TikTok is working to recover its U.S. infrastructure following a data center power outage. Today, a post on the X account of the TikTok USDS Joint Venture—the separate U.S. entity formed by the company—indicated that the outages are not yet fully resolved. The company noted that the U.S. user experience may still have some technical issues. In its update, the TikTok USDS Joint Venture stated that it has made significant progress in recovering its U.S. infrastructure alongside its U.S. data center partner, though the U.S. user experience may still face technical issues, including when posting new content. The entity added that it is committed to bringing the platform back to full capacity as soon as possible.

On Monday, the company attributed the glitches to a power outage at a data center partner. The disruption occurred as a large winter storm impacted some 220 million Americans. This infrastructure failure follows an announcement last week in which TikTok disclosed the creation of its separate U.S. entity, a move designed to avoid a nationwide ban in the country. During the transition, users reported experiencing multiple bugs, slower load times, or timed-out requests, including when posting new content, as well as issues with searches, video playback, and the For You algorithm.

The timing of these technical issues has prompted skepticism among some users. The disruption coincided with the onset of civil unrest, which began heating up after U.S. citizen Alex Pretti was killed by ICE agents (U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement). Some users questioned the veracity of the company’s explanations regarding the server issues during this period of heightened public tension.

Despite the ongoing technical difficulties, the company has sought to reassure its user base regarding the integrity of their accounts. In a statement addressing the server timeouts, the company explicitly stated, “Your actual data and engagement are safe.” TikTok added that while creators might temporarily see zero views or likes on their posts, or find their earnings seemingly missing, these issues are caused by server timeouts rather than data loss.

Why it matters

The outage highlights the fragility of TikTok’s U.S. infrastructure at a critical moment, as the company attempts to transition to a separate U.S. entity to satisfy regulatory concerns and avoid a nationwide ban.