TikTok Outage Hits US After Major Ownership Shift

On January 25, 2026, millions of Americans woke up to more than just a heavy blanket of snow outside their windows—they found TikTok, the wildly popular short-form video app, experiencing a major outage. For many, the usual morning ritual of scrolling through curated feeds was abruptly replaced by error messages, frozen videos, and a sudden need to find entertainment elsewhere. According to Downdetector, a website that tracks outages for major platforms, more than 35,000 users reported issues overnight, with the peak coinciding with the biggest snow day of the year for much of the country (FOX Local).

Reports from frustrated users poured in: 65% said the app simply wouldn’t work, 23% experienced a total outage, and 13% faced issues with their TikTok feed (Downdetector via The Economic Times). Videos failed to post, some showed zero views, and the beloved “For You” page—TikTok’s signature algorithm-driven content stream—malfunctioned or refused to refresh. As complaints mounted on Reddit and outage trackers, users flocked to X (formerly Twitter) to confirm whether the problem was widespread or just another personal tech hiccup. It didn’t take long for hashtags like #TikTokDown to start trending, with people sharing memes, jokes, and a healthy dose of sarcasm about their disrupted routines (The Economic Times, FOX Local).

One user quipped, “Now I actually have to pay attention to my TV with TikTok being down,” while another lamented, “It’s 4:13am and TikTok is down… During a winter storm. Wrong TIMING FR.” Some wondered if they’d been banned, while others joked about algorithm failures or their sudden, forced “offline time” (as reported by The Economic Times and FOX Local). The outage, though brief, highlighted just how deeply TikTok is woven into daily habits and digital culture across the United States.

But this technical hiccup was just the tip of the iceberg in a week already packed with TikTok news. Only days before the outage, the company had finalized a landmark deal to keep the app operating in the U.S.—a move that followed years of legal wrangling, national security debates, and political brinkmanship between global superpowers (The Economic Times, FOX Local). The agreement saw TikTok’s Chinese parent, ByteDance, cede majority ownership of its U.S. operations to a consortium of American and international investors, effectively creating a new American entity for the platform (The Economic Times, The Economic Times News App, FOX Local).

The roster of new stakeholders reads like a who’s who of the tech and investment world: Oracle, the software giant; MGX, an Emirati investment firm; Silver Lake, a major private equity player; and Michael Dell’s personal investment entity. Collectively, these investors now own more than 80% of the U.S. TikTok venture, with Oracle, MGX, and Silver Lake each holding a 15% stake (The Economic Times). ByteDance, meanwhile, retains just under 20%. The seven-member board overseeing U.S. TikTok is now majority American, in line with a December 2025 memo to employees. Adam Presser, formerly TikTok’s head of operations and trust and safety, was appointed CEO of the new American entity, working alongside TikTok’s global CEO, Shou Chew, who also holds a board seat (The Economic Times, FOX Local).

The deal was designed to address mounting national security concerns that the Chinese government could use TikTok to surveil or manipulate its more than 200 million U.S. users. In recent years, the app had become a political football, with Congress at one point banning it outright and both major parties raising alarms about data privacy and foreign influence (The Economic Times, The Economic Times News App). The new arrangement, at least on paper, aims to “loosen TikTok’s ties to China and address national security concerns,” as The Economic Times put it.

Shou Chew, TikTok’s CEO, called the move “great news” in an internal memo, saying it would enable “our U.S. users to continue to discover, create, and thrive as part of TikTok’s vibrant global community and experience.” The company also promised that U.S. creators would remain discoverable worldwide and that businesses could maintain their global reach, though it acknowledged that the details of how U.S. TikTok and ByteDance would maintain a seamless global experience were still being worked out (The Economic Times).

Not everyone is convinced, however. On the Friday before the outage, lawmakers in Washington voiced skepticism about the new deal. Representative Jack Moolenaar, the Republican chair of the House select committee on China, announced that Congress would scrutinize the arrangement, warning, “China cannot be allowed to weaponize an app to divide and weaken our country. Does this deal ensure China does not have influence over the algorithm? Can the parties involved assure Americans their data is secure? Those are questions that need to be answered.” (The Economic Times)

The skepticism wasn’t limited to Capitol Hill. Jasmine Enberg, an analyst at research firm eMarketer, cautioned that any noticeable changes to a platform’s service—especially one as beloved as TikTok—carry the risk of alienating its audience. The uncertainty around how the U.S. and ByteDance would maintain global interoperability only added to the unease (The Economic Times).

Meanwhile, the White House celebrated the news. U.S. President Donald Trump, never one to shy away from the spotlight, took to Truth Social to claim credit for the deal, calling it a “dramatic, final, and beautiful conclusion.” In his words: “I am so happy to have helped in saving TikTok! I only hope that long into the future I will be remembered by those who use and love TikTok.” (The Economic Times)

As the technical team at TikTok worked quietly behind the scenes to restore full service, the internet did what it does best: turned collective frustration into humor. Whether the outage was caused by a technical glitch, server overload, or something more complex remains unclear—TikTok has yet to issue an official statement on the cause or a timeline for full restoration (The Economic Times, FOX Local). For now, users are left to speculate, meme, and, yes, maybe even pay attention to their TVs for a change.

For all the drama—technical, legal, and political—one thing is clear: TikTok’s hold on American culture is as strong as ever, and its future, while perhaps a bit less uncertain, is still being written in real time.