ByteDance completed a major transaction with American investors last month, finalizing an arrangement that included Oracle as a key partner.
The deal came in response to bipartisan legislation demanding the Chinese company either sell TikTok or face a ban across the United States.
The announcement triggered immediate backlash from American users. Many raised concerns about potential censorship on the platform, according to multiple media reports.
Some users claimed the app removed videos showing Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents in action. Others reported difficulty searching for certain terms, including “Epstein.”
TikTok disputed these allegations. The company attributed any technical issues to a “data center power outage.” However, the app simultaneously updated its privacy policy.
The revised terms now permit TikTok to gather more extensive information about users, including their precise geographic locations.
This policy change has sparked fresh concerns about data privacy. The New Republic raised questions about how this information might be utilized by federal agencies.
According to the publication, ICE agents could potentially bypass traditional court-ordered data requests. Instead, they might purchase user information from private data brokers who obtain it directly from TikTok.
The magazine described this possibility as “highly ironic.” The original ByteDance divestment requirement stemmed from concerns about Chinese government surveillance.
Users’ Mobile Advertising IDs transmit exact GPS coordinates to data brokerage firms.
The New Republic suggested this information could ultimately reach the Department of Homeland Security.
ICE could theoretically use such data to create probabilistic “confidence scores” for individuals. The agency might then categorize protesters and legal observers as “domestic terrorists.”
These fears are not without precedent, according to Futurism. Oracle cofounder Larry Ellison, a close associate of President Donald Trump, for example, has previously discussed artificial intelligence enabling mass surveillance. Ellison has spoken about creating conditions where “citizens are on their best behavior” through widespread monitoring.
ICE already employs sophisticated tracking technology. The agency uses an application called ELITE, developed by intelligence contractor Palantir, according to reporting from 404 Media last month.
The software helps agents prepare for neighborhood enforcement operations. It provides information ahead of planned raids.
“One can easily imagine a scenario where TikTok provides the last missing piece of data — user location and citizenship status — that ICE needs to green-light one of its raids,” wrote Logan McMillen of The New Republic.
When questioned directly about the matter, TikTok declined to comment. The company would not confirm or deny whether United States immigration authorities have accessed user data.
The situation has prompted strong reactions online. Many users are calling for others to abandon the platform entirely. “Yeah, everyone just go ahead and delete TikTok now if you haven’t already,” one user wrote.
President Donald Trump’s second term has seen a sharp rise in attacks against federal immigration officers. Newly released data from DHS underscores a surge in vehicle assaults and other forms of violence targeting ICE and CBP personnel.
Between January 21, 2025, and January 24, 2026, federal law enforcement officers experienced 182 incidents in which vehicles were deliberately used to strike officers or their vehicles during enforcement operations.
Resist the Mainstream previously reported that DHS officials said these attacks reflect a broader trend of increasingly aggressive behavior toward federal agents, which has escalated under policies and rhetoric that some argue encourage evasion of the law.
ICE officers were the targets of 68 vehicle-related assaults, up sharply from just two in the same period the previous year. CBP agents faced 114 incidents, more than twice the prior year’s total.
