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[FCE] Why TikTok’s first week of American ownership was a disaster

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The popular video application TikTok has faced a challenging start under its recent American ownership, encountering a major system outage, accusations of censorship, and an official investigation within its first weeks. On January 22nd, following years of intense political debate and legal pressure in the United States, TikTok finalised a deal to transfer its operations from its Chinese parent company, ByteDance, to a consortium of US investors, including the software giant Oracle.

However, this new chapter began with immediate difficulties. Soon after the sale, the app’s privacy policy was updated to permit more extensive data collection, such as precise location tracking. While similar practices are common among other social networks, this particular change quickly sparked suspicion among users regarding the new owners’ intentions and the security of their personal data.

The situation worsened significantly during an eventful weekend. Firstly, a severe winter storm, named Fern, impacted several US states, critically affecting Oracle’s data centres upon which TikTok’s functionality largely depends. This led to widespread technical problems for the app, with many users reporting an inability to upload videos or noticing that their posts, despite having large followings, received zero views. Coincidentally, at the same time, numerous prominent users attempted to share videos protesting the violent death of a US citizen, Alex Pretti, during an immigration protest. These users quickly discovered their content was not visible, leading to immediate accusations that TikTok was deliberately suppressing critical voices against federal agents. High-profile figures, including California Senator Scott Weiner and musician Billie Eilish, publicly expressed their outrage, generating widespread media coverage and raising serious questions about censorship.

Following several days of intense public outcry, TikTok issued a statement attributing the issues primarily to the severe weather conditions. Oracle confirmed that a power outage at one of its data centres had indeed impacted the app’s performance. Nevertheless, this explanation did little to alleviate growing public concerns. The controversy escalated further when California Governor Gavin Newsom announced his office would launch an official investigation. This inquiry is set to examine not only the alleged censorship of protest videos but also claims that TikTok may have suppressed content critical of former US President Donald Trump.

The fallout from these events has been considerable. An unspecified number of users, distrustful of the newly Americanised TikTok’s operations, have reportedly departed the platform. This exodus has provided a significant boost to a new competitor, Upscrolled, which pledges greater freedom from censorship and has rapidly climbed to the top of app store rankings. Concurrently, TikTok itself has seen a noticeable drop in its position in app stores, alongside a clear increase in downloads for VPN applications, reflecting a heightened public concern about digital surveillance.

While TikTok, with its vast global user base, is unlikely to disappear entirely, its initial weeks under US ownership have severely damaged user trust and cast a considerable shadow over its future trajectory.

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1. What is the main purpose of the article?

  • A. To explain the technical infrastructure of TikTok and its reliance on Oracle’s data centres.
  • B. To detail the political and legal history behind TikTok’s sale to US investors.
  • C. To describe the challenges and controversies TikTok faced immediately after its change of ownership.
  • D. To promote a new social media platform called Upscrolled as a viable alternative to TikTok.

2. What specific change in TikTok’s privacy policy is mentioned as a source of immediate user suspicion?

  • A. It allowed the app to share user data with various government agencies without consent.
  • B. It granted the new owners full access to users’ private messages and conversations.
  • C. It permitted more extensive data collection, including precise location tracking.
  • D. It restricted users from uploading certain types of political content or protests.

3. What can be inferred about the public’s reaction to TikTok’s explanation regarding the technical issues?

  • A. They fully accepted it after Oracle confirmed the power outage.
  • B. They believed the explanation was a deliberate attempt to mislead them.
  • C. They found it insufficient to address their broader worries about the platform.
  • D. They understood that all social media platforms experience similar technical difficulties.

4. In paragraph 3, what does the phrase ‘Coincidentally, at the same time’ suggest about the events described?

  • A. That the technical problems were intentionally caused to facilitate censorship.
  • B. That the two separate issues occurred simultaneously, without a direct causal link.
  • C. That the censorship accusations were a direct result of the storm’s impact on data centres.
  • D. That the users’ protests were timed to coincide with the app’s technical difficulties.

5. Which of the following was a direct consequence of the issues TikTok faced after its ownership change?

  • A. A rapid increase in TikTok’s global user base due to curiosity about the new ownership.
  • B. An official apology from Oracle for the power outages affecting TikTok’s services.
  • C. A boost in popularity for a competing social media platform that promises greater freedom.
  • D. The immediate reversal of the updated privacy policy following public outcry.