American TikTok is Censoring Everything
Sun Feb 01 2026
On January 22, 2026, TikTok officially became an "American" company. The $14 billion deal, brokered by a consortium of politically connected investors, was supposed to end the years of national security concerns and protect the data of 170 million US users. Instead, the new TikTok USDS Joint Venture has stumbled out of the gate with a series of "technical glitches" that look suspiciously like targeted censorship. From the inexplicable blocking of the word "Epstein" in direct messages to the suppression of protest videos in Minneapolis, the new management’s first week has raised a troubling question: did we actually solve the problem of algorithmic manipulation, or did we just ensure that the people doing the manipulating are the ones who helped broker the deal?This video examines the bizarre political U-turn that turned TikTok from a national emergency into a sweetheart deal for insiders. We look at the new owners, the incredibly invasive "biometric harvesting" hidden in the new Terms of Service, and the "Rational Business Actor" theory that suggests no company would be dumb enough to break its own product on day one. We also explore the "Mecha-Hitler" problem of content moderation, and why the "National Security" label may now be acting as a permanent shield against transparency for a platform that is now 100% domestic, 100% private, and perhaps, 100% MAGA.
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On January 22, 2026, TikTok officially became an "American" company. The $14 billion deal, brokered by a consortium of politically connected investors, was supposed to end the years of national security concerns and protect the data of 170 million US users. Instead, the new TikTok USDS Joint Venture has stumbled out of the gate with a series of "technical glitches" that look suspiciously like targeted censorship. From the inexplicable blocking of the word "Epstein" in direct messages to the suppression of protest videos in Minneapolis, the new management’s first week has raised a troubling question: did we actually solve the problem of algorithmic manipulation, or did we just ensure that the people doing the manipulating are the ones who helped broker the deal?This video examines the bizarre political U-turn that turned TikTok from a national emergency into a sweetheart deal for insiders. We look at the new owners, the incredibly invasive "biometric harvesting" hidden in the new Terms of Service, and the "Rational Business Actor" theory that suggests no company would be dumb enough to break its own product on day one. We also explore the "Mecha-Hitler" problem of content moderation, and why the "National Security" label may now be acting as a permanent shield against transparency for a platform that is now 100% domestic, 100% private, and perhaps, 100% MAGA. Patrick's Books: Statistics For The Trading Floor: https://amzn.to/3eerLA0 Derivatives For The Trading Floor: https://amzn.to/3cjsyPF Corporate Finance: https://amzn.to/3fn3rvC Ways To Support The Channel: Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/PatrickBoyleOnFinance Buy Me a Coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/patrickboyle