Local cybersecurity expert weighs in on TikTok U.S. ownership change
Local cybersecurity expert weighs in on TikTok U.S. ownership change
Publish Date: 2026-01-28 22:22:00
Source Domain: www.cbs8.com
Using an unordered list, summarize the following article with between 4 and 8 key points. A new U.S. ownership structure for TikTok is sparking new questions about privacy and content control among some users.
SAN DIEGO — The social media platform TikTok announced its new U.S. ownership structure, a majority-American joint venture that promises to protect national security through data safeguards, algorithm security, content moderation, and software controls. However, the ownership change is sparking questions among some users about privacy and content control.
Despite the new ownership structure and the establishment of a U.S. data center, the technology powering TikTok remains fundamentally unchanged, according to cybersecurity experts.
“The same things that were possible previously are still possible; it’s still Chinese-written software, and the algorithm is still written by ByteDance,” said Nikolas Behar, a professor of cybersecurity at the University of San Diego.
The ownership transition has prompted various concerns among users. Some have reported being unable to send certain words in direct messages, while others believe their videos critical of Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations are being suppressed. However, not all users have noticed differences since the change.
“Not entirely, I’ve seen TikToks pop up about certain content being blocked, but I haven’t been able to verify if that’s actually the case on my own,” said Giorgia Seberini, a TikTok user.
Other users have deleted the app entirely due to privacy concerns.
“I was a TikTok user, and I just got a lot of videos on how there’s privacy concerns with, I think, TikTok was sold to another company, and so I don’t want to deal with any privacy concerns. I just deleted the app,” said Jessica Choi.
Experts warn of additional concerns with the new ownership structure.
“One of the things that folks should be potentially concerned about is the ownership of Oracle, [which] is aligned with the president’s interests, so that could mean that things that are not approved or the administration doesn’t like could potentially be censored,” said Behar.
Governor Gavin Newsom announced on “X” that he is launching a review into whether TikTok violates state law by censoring Trump-critical content.
On Monday, TikTok reported a major infrastructure issue caused by a power outage at a U.S. data center, which may cause users to experience glitches, slow load times, or timeouts. Progress is being made, but some technical issues may continue.
When it comes to protecting personal data, cybersecurity experts say it’s difficult to do that since the application is still the same; it’s just being hosted somewhere else.
“The best thing to do is think twice about using the app because at the end of the day, once you install it, once you sign up, once you’re using it, you’re allowing them to let it collect data on you,” said Behar.
