TikTok said a power outage at a U.S. data center disrupted its platform, triggering a cascading systems failure that affected its recommendation algorithm and core features.
Users reported seeing outdated or irrelevant videos on their “For You” pages, along with slower load times, posting errors, and temporary drops in views, likes, or creator earnings.
The company said it is working to restore TikTok to full capacity, though some technical issues were still ongoing as of Tuesday. TikTok first notified employees of the outage on Sunday, around the same time users began noticing unusual feed behavior.
The disruption sparked online speculation that recent algorithm changes were linked to TikTok’s newly announced U.S. joint venture and investor oversight.
A TikTok spokesperson said any algorithm issues were the result of the outage, not changes tied to ownership or data governance.