UltraViolet Action Condemns TikTok Censorship of Anti-Trump and Anti-ICE Content following U.S. Acquisition
For Immediate Release: January 29, 2026
Contact: media@fwdshift.com
Reported censorship of content regarding ICE violence and Jeffrey Epstein are the latest in a trend of tech oligarchs seemingly shaping content moderation policies for their own political and financial gain at the cost of democracy.
UltraViolet Action, a leading national women-led gender-justice organization which has worked to make TikTok a safer place for women and survivors, released the following statement in the wake of reported censorship on TikTok days after its ownership moved from China’s ByteDance to a new set of majority American companies:
“We are both disappointed and deeply unsurprised by reports of technical flaws and political censorship on TikTok under new U.S. ownership,” said Jenna Sherman, Campaign Director at UltraViolet Action. “From day one of this administration, everything possible has been done to giftwrap the world’s most popular social media platform for an unaccountable group of billionaires hand picked by Donald Trump. And from day one, UltraViolet Action—along with many other women’s, digital, and human rights organizations—has been railing against the dangers this acquisition poses for the privacy and free speech of TikTok’s 170 million U.S.-based users.”
Just days after TikTok ownership moved from China’s ByteDance to a new set of majority American companies, thousands of users began reporting instances of content censorship. In particular, users claim the platform is censoring content about ICE violence and mentions of “Epstein,” in reference to the disgraced late financier and pedophile Jeffrey Epstein. These accusations have come alongside a host of reported tech challenges on the platform from an outage to broken feeds to failed uploads. And while TikTok has denied any censorship policy, serious concerns remain about whether the platform will receive an overhaul so as to support Trump and the GOP in future elections.
“We’ve seen this movie before. It happened when Elon Musk purchased and transformed X into a sty of hateful rhetoric and disinformation. Now, it’s happening to TikTok,” said Sherman. “It’s the same script: Tech oligarchs gain control of huge swaths of the internet and shape content moderation policies for their own political and financial gain at the cost of democracy and user safety.”
Several members of the consortium which purchased TikTok have clear conflicts of interest or troubling backgrounds. Oracle CEO Larry Ellison, a key fundraiser for Trump before, has been at the heart of a MAGA media takeover along with his son David, who now sits at the head of media titan Paramount Skydance following a controversial merger approved by the president. The consortium also includes media mogul Rupert Murdoch and his son Lachlan Murdoch, who presided over Fox News during decades of alleged sexual harassment and assault by former CEO Roger Ailes.
UltraViolet Action has been a leading voice in the movement to make social media safer for women and gender-expansive people. The organization has launched campaigns against Meta hate speech rollbacks and pressured TikTok to remove ads promoting the use of GPS trackers for stalking, all while fighting to ensure that these platforms are safe and welcoming for all.
“Especially ironic is the idea that a number of social media platforms bending the knee to Trump, such as Meta and X, have been taking similar action under the guise of ‘free speech’.” It’s crystal clear whose speech and whose images they are interested in protecting; they’re not Renee Nicole Good’s, they’re not Alex Pretti’s, and they’re not yours or mine” said Sherman. “It’s crucial that lawmakers—and the Congressional Committees that oversee the Federal Communications Commission in particular—stay vigilant about tracking these claims over time.”
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UltraViolet Action works directly to mobilize constituents and lawmakers, and is a 501(c)(4) organization working to change sexist policies, practices and beliefs.
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