WASHINGTON –
California Gov. Gavin Newsom accused TikTok on Monday of suppressing content critical of President Donald Trump as he launched a review of the platform’s content moderation practices to determine if they violated state law.
The step comes after TikTok’s Chinese owner, ByteDance, said it had finalized a deal to set up a majority U.S.-owned joint venture that will secure U.S. data, to avoid a U.S. ban on the short video app used by more than 200 million Americans.
“Following TikTok’s sale to a Trump-aligned business group, our office has received reports, and independently confirmed instances, of suppressed content critical of President Trump,” Newsom’s office said on X, without elaborating.