California will investigate TikTok's alleged censorship of anti-Trump posts

Here is a 190-word summary of the news article: California Governor Gavin Newsom has announced an investigation into whether TikTok is unlawfully censoring content critical of former President Donald Trump. Newsom's office claims to have independently confirmed instances where TikTok suppressed messages containing the word "Epstein" and is now calling on the state's Department of Justice to determine if this violates California law. The investigation comes after ByteDance finalized a deal to create a new US entity to oversee TikTok's operations in the country. The new entity, called the TikTok USDS Joint Venture, is majority-owned by Oracle, Silver Lake, and an Emirati fund, with ByteDance retaining a 19.9% stake. Following the announcement, users reported various technical issues affecting TikTok's algorithm and features, including difficulties posting content related to ICE. TikTok attributed these problems to a power outage at one of its US data centers, and said it is working to restore normal service. The governor's office has stated that it is time to investigate TikTok's content moderation practices, which they believe may be illegally censoring anti-Trump posts on the platform.