TikTok is still down, here are all the latest updates
TikTok is still down, here are all the latest updates

More than a day after TikTok’s issues began, TikTok USDS says the problems are the result of a power outage at a data center and subsequent cascading systems failure. Starting early Sunday morning, TikTok’s now under new ownership US arm started breaking down just a couple of days after Oracle & Co took the reins. […]

Even the big dick subreddit is mad about ICE
Even the big dick subreddit is mad about ICE

“Fuck ICE first, second, third, and fourth. Then worry about fucking me,” a Reddit post reads. “Immigrants of any status are my friends, neighbors, and colleagues.” Across the internet – and in the streets – the sentiment is unavoidable, especially after a federal immigration agent shot and killed Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old nurse, in Minneapolis […]

TikTokers are heading to UpScrolled following US takeover
TikTokers are heading to UpScrolled following US takeover

TikTok’s takeover in the US has prompted users to join an alternative social platform called UpScrolled. The app, which is available on Android and iOS, currently holds the 12th spot in Apple’s App Store, and it’s struggling to keep up with an influx of new traffic. “You showed up so fast our servers tapped out,” […]

Internal chats show how social media companies discussed teen engagement
Internal chats show how social media companies discussed teen engagement

Recently released documents show the big business opportunity that social media companies saw in recruiting teens to their platforms and how they discussed risks that heavy digital engagement could pose. The documents were released last week as part of a major set of trials brought by school districts, state attorneys general, and others against Meta, […]

TikTok blames its US problems on a power outage
TikTok blames its US problems on a power outage

TikTok says a power outage is causing ongoing issues and outages that started in the US early Sunday morning. In an email to The Verge, TikTok USDS spokesperson Jamie Favazza pointed to a statement posted to the joint venture’s newly-created X account, which says the company has been “working to restore our services following a […]

2026 is the year of social media’s legal reckoning
2026 is the year of social media’s legal reckoning

Over the next year, top social media executives are expected to take the witness stand to defend their companies from an avalanche of claims about their failure to protect kids. The first of many trials is set to begin this month in California, when Meta, TikTok, and YouTube face claims that tech addiction harmed a […]

TikTok USA is broken
TikTok USA is broken

TikTok has suffered from extensive problems on its first weekend after completing a transaction that changed the ownership of its US arm. According to Downdetector, the issues initially spiked in the early hours of Sunday morning, but many users, including editors here at The Verge, are still reporting errors. On Monday morning, TikTok USDS head […]

Get ready for the AI ad-pocalypse
Get ready for the AI ad-pocalypse

I’ll confess, with no shame whatsoever, that I really love ads. Artsy ones, funny ones, weird ones, emotional ones – TV commercials were my childhood TikTok before any of us were using terms like “short-form video.” But like most creative things in my life, AI is sucking the joy out of it. And it’s only […]

Congress doesn’t seem to know if the TikTok deal complies with its law
Congress doesn’t seem to know if the TikTok deal complies with its law

TikTok finally closed a deal meant to bring it into compliance with the law that should have banned it a year ago, and the lawmakers who passed that law still don’t seem to know what’s going on. The company announced Tuesday that its US service is now part of the separate TikTok USDS Joint Venture […]

What TikTok’s new owners mean for your feed
What TikTok’s new owners mean for your feed

TikTok is officially under new ownership in the US, and that could spell big changes for the video-sharing app. On January 22nd, ByteDance – TikTok’s Chinese parent company – and a group of investors closed a $14 billion deal to spin off the platform’s US operations, introducing a new slate of American executives. The Silver […]