Celebrities Claim TikTok Is Limiting Videos About ICE — Here’s How the Platform Responded
Meg Stalter, who became widely known for her role on Hacks, has deleted her TikTok account after saying the app was stopping her from posting videos criticizing ICE. Stalter said the problem started after TikTok came under new ownership in the U.S., and she believed the platform was censoring political content.
Stalter, who had more than 278,000 followers, explained her decision in an Instagram post shared Sunday night. She wrote that TikTok “is under new ownership and we are being completely censored and monitored.”
She also said she could not upload anything related to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which she referred to using an ice cube emoji. According to Stalter, even trying to disguise the videos as comedy did not work. She said she was “unable to upload anything” about ICE.
TikTok has denied censoring content. The company said the posting issues were caused by a power outage at a U.S. data center. In a statement shared Monday on its new X account, the TikTok USDS Joint Venture said, “Since yesterday we’ve been working to restore our services following a power outage at a U.S. data center impacting TikTok and other apps we operate.” The company added, “We’re sorry for this disruption and hope to resolve it soon.” Searches for the word “ICE” on TikTok still show videos that criticize the agency.
Since yesterday we’ve been working to restore our services following a power outage at a U.S. data center impacting TikTok and other apps we operate. We're working with our data center partner to stabilize our service. We're sorry for this disruption and hope to resolve it soon.
— TikTok USDS Joint Venture (@tiktokusdsjv) January 26, 2026
The timing of the issue comes just days after ByteDance finalized a deal to create TikTok U.S., a new joint venture that brings the app into compliance with the U.S. divest-or-ban law. The law bans apps in the U.S. that are more than 20 percent owned by a foreign adversary, citing concerns about spying and propaganda. TikTok U.S. is now majority-owned by American investors, including Silver Lake, Oracle, and Abu Dhabi–based MGX. This information comes from public filings and reporting on the deal.
Anger over ICE has grown following violent incidents in Minneapolis. Over the weekend, federal agents shot and killed Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old ICU nurse, during protests over the earlier death of Renee Good. Both were U.S. citizens. The Department of Homeland Security has said both shootings were acts of self-defense. These details were shared in official DHS statements and news reports.
Several celebrities have spoken out online. Musician Finneas said on Instagram that his own TikTok video about ICE had been “shadowbanned,” and he shared Stalter’s post with his followers. Other stars addressed the issue in public appearances. Olivia Wilde and Natalie Portman wore “ICE out” pins at the Sundance Film Festival.
The claims about censorship, the platform’s response, and the growing backlash all come from statements made by Stalter and others on Instagram, TikTok’s official post on X, and comments from DHS.
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