The TikTok account of an independent media outlet was banned for several days from the Chinese-owned video app over seemingly innocuous videos that were gaining traction.
Off The Press brands itself as a “news brand for Americans who feel the mainstream media ignores the stories they care about most.” The outlet’s TikTok account, with nearly 40,000 followers, was taken down after posting two videos showing lawmakers’ reactions to news on Sep. 10 that Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk had been shot while speaking at a Utah university, according to screenshots provided by the outlet to the Daily Caller News Foundation
One roughly 15-second video showed Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia asking for prayer for Kirk during a House hearing and gained about 300,000 views before it was flagged. The other showed Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut speaking on the Senate floor, offering his condolences to Kirk and his family.
“It was just a video of a lawmaker talking, and TikTok arbitrarily decided that an elected lawmaker speaking about a pertinent news topic is just not allowed,” Baron told the DCNF. “This is just crazy that these extremely tame videos of lawmakers are getting flagged like this.”
The videos were initially flagged on Sept. 12 as “ineligible for recommendation” for violating community guidelines, and the account was ultimately banned altogether on Sept. 13. Baron said TikTok never specified which guidelines were allegedly violated.
Baron appealed the ban multiple times and contacted TikTok, but never received a response. The account was restored without explanation on Wednesday, only for a video showing First Lady Melania Trump speaking with children at the Royal Library in the UK to be flagged the next day, putting the account at risk again.
TikTok did not respond to the DCNF’s request for comment.
“It’s problematic because we don’t have this issue on any other social media platform,” Baron said.
He suggested the algorithm may be to blame but questioned why it targeted them, noting that legacy news outlets’ posts about Kirk did not trigger similar bans.
Congress passed a law in April 2024 requiring the app’s Chinese parent company — ByteDance — to divest TikTok’s U.S. business or be banned in the country, citing national security risks. However, President Donald Trump signed his fourth extension of the deadline on Tuesday, keeping the app alive while a deal is finalized.
“I think this stresses the importance of bringing TikTok under American ownership, where I think an American owner would be more accountable and would actually have to address some of these concerns about freedom of speech, fairness and content moderation,” said Baron. “I don’t think that same level of accountability exists for a company that is essentially owned by the Chinese.”
It remains unclear how a potential deal will be structured and whether the app would still rely on a China-built algorithm.
Under the emerging plan, TikTok’s U.S. business would become majority-owned by an Oracle-led investor group, reducing ByteDance’s stake to below 20%, according to Reuters. However, Beijing has indicated that the U.S. spinoff could still license TikTok’s algorithm and simply “entrust” a partner with U.S. data and content security, according to the Beijing-based CGTN News.
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