Social Media Platforms and Censorship

Axios reports that California Gov. Gavin Newsom has opened a state investigation into whether TikTok is unlawfully censoring content critical of President Trump and his immigration crackdown, after users said over the weekend they were suddenly unable to upload videos about ICE raids and the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti in Minneapolis. TikTok attributes the disruptions to a 'major infrastructure issue' tied to a power outage at a U.S. data‑center partner and says videos of Pretti’s killing have been continuously available, but the timing has fueled the hashtag #TikTokCensorship and suspicions that the platform is muting Trump‑unfriendly material just days after finalizing a U.S. joint‑venture deal. Separately, Meta is blocking links to ICE List — a site that has doxxed thousands of alleged DHS employees — citing its policy against sharing personally identifiable information for law‑enforcement, military and security personnel. The fracas comes as activists and residents increasingly rely on TikTok and other apps to document and track ICE operations in Minnesota and other states, and as lawmakers like Sen. Chris Murphy warn that opaque, politically sensitive content policies on dominant social platforms are emerging as a major 'threat to democracy.' The story puts hard names and explanations to what had been viral complaints that posts about ICE and about Jeffrey Epstein were being throttled or blocked, and raises stakes for regulators looking at how much control politically exposed platforms can exert over real‑time protest and enforcement footage.