Gaza - Palestinian journalist Bisan Owda, who boasts more than 1.4 million followers on TikTok, has reported that she's been banned from the platform after it was acquired by US investors.
On Wednesday – less than a week after the US takeover – Owda informed her followers on X and Instagram that her TikTok account had been "deleted."
"I had 1.4 million followers there, and I have been building that platform for four years," she said in a new video.
Owda emphasized that her page was "banned forever," not simply restricted as it had been previously.
However, she admitted that she wasn't surprised by the move, pointing to a recent clip of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu saying that the TikTok purchase would be "consequential."
Owda also pointed to a video of the new CEO of TikTok's US arm, Adam Presser, in which he said the term "Zionism," when used as a "proxy for a protected attribute," would be considered hate speech.
The activist has been documenting the horrific reality of Israel's assault on Gaza since 2023, sharing online videos and livestreams along with her series It's Bisan from Gaza and I'm Still Alive, which has won numerous awards.
Additional concerns over possible censorship on the new iteration of TikTok were raised by California Gov. Gavin Newsom, among others, after certain terms and topics appeared to be blocked.
TikTok users sound the alarm on possible censorship
Numerous users reported that content about ICE and the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti by federal agents on Saturday had seemingly been restricted, as posts on the subject were stuck at zero views.
TikTok denied claims of censorship, instead blaming the issue on a power outage at one of its data centers, according to CNBC.
Users also took note of an error message that would appear when sending a direct message with the word "Epstein."
TikTok told CNBC that the term was not banned and that they would investigate the issue.
Newsom has argued that these instances suggest a possible attempt to censor TikTok content that is critical of President Donald Trump, as his administration has facilitated the brutal immigration raids across the country, and the president himself has faced intense scrutiny over his ties to the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
"It's time to investigate," he wrote via X this week. "I am launching a review into whether TikTok is violating state law by censoring Trump-critical content."
The new TikTok investors have significant ties to Trump. Among them is Oracle, whose co-founder Larry Ellison is a longtime ally of the president.