TikTok says a power outage messed up its algorithm over the weekend
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- TikTok's algorithm was disrupted on Sunday as the company dealt with a data center outage.
- Users reported seeing a flurry of old videos in their feeds.
- Some wondered whether the shake-up was caused by TikTok's new US investors, including Oracle.
Did your TikTok "For You" page look a little funky over the weekend?
It may have been messed up by a data center outage, a spokesperson for TikTok's new US joint venture told Business Insider.
"Since yesterday we've been working to restore our services following a power outage at a U.S. data center impacting TikTok and other apps we operate," the company wrote on X (formerly Twitter). "We're working with our data center partner to stabilize our service. We're sorry for this disruption and hope to resolve it soon."
TikTok users began reporting issues with their feeds on Sunday, including seeing a flurry of old or irrelevant posts instead of new videos. The absence of topical content, such as on-the-ground videos from the Minneapolis ICE protests, led to speculation on social media that TikTok's new US investors were manipulating the algorithm.
A TikTok spokesperson said any algorithm changes users may have noticed were likely due to the outage.
Many users were on high alert for any changes to their FYP this weekend after TikTok said on Thursday that it had finalized a joint venture agreement to hand over management of its US user data and algorithm to an investor group. TikTok's new managing investors include Oracle and the investment firms Silver Lake and MGX. The company has also granted some US ownership to wealthy individuals, such as Michael Dell.
The joint venture would "retrain, test, and update the content recommendation algorithm on U.S. user data," TikTok wrote in its announcement around the deal.
Even before TikTok closed its deal, creators, employees, and other members of the app's community were worried about what a US divestment could mean for its algorithm.
"The algo is what makes TikTok great," one current TikTok staffer told Business Insider last quarter. "Will a retrain be as good?"
Peter Kafka and Sydney Bradley contributed reporting.