United States of America: Governor of California announced investigation into TikTok over alleged censorship of Trump-critical content

On 27 January 2026, the Governor of California, Gavin Newsom, announced an investigation into TikTok via a statement made on social media to determine if the platform is violating state law by censoring content critical of Donald Trump. This review follows a transaction where TikTok established a new joint venture to operate its United States business, reducing Chinese ownership to 19.9% and transferring majority control to American business entities, including allies of Donald Trump. The investigation aims to assess TikTok's compliance with state laws regarding user speech rights and to ensure that platform intermediary services for user-generated content are not misused for political censorship. According to a social media statement by the Governor's press office, he called on the California Department of Justice to make this assessment.