Watch more of our videos on ShotsTV.comand on Freeview 262 or Freely 565Visit Shots! now"Something bad happened while we were gone: How TikTok changed after the US banAfter just 12 hours of being banned, TikTok made an abrupt return to American users last night, leading many to celebrate and laugh at their initial hysteria. However, amidst the joy, some users believe they have uncovered a sinister truth about the new version of TikTok that has reappeared: "Something bad happened while we were gone, states TikTok user Allie Hamrick.TikToks ban in the US stemmed from national security concerns raised by the Trump administration. The administration claimed that TikToks parent company, ByteDance, was harvesting data from American users and potentially sharing it with the Chinese government. To avoid a permanent ban, TikTok was required to either sell its US operations to an American company or restructure its data-sharing practices. ByteDance entered negotiations with several US firms, including Oracle and Walmart to create a new entity that would address these concerns. However, the deals specifics remained unclear, and the sudden reinstatement of TikTok has led to speculation about what agreements were reached behind closed doors.Following the brief blackout, multiple users reported significant changes upon the apps return, including vastly different For You pages and restrictions on live streams. One TikTok user, Allie Hamrick, garnered over a million views on her video detailing the eerie changes she noticed.Hamrick first described the red flag initial messages that appeared on users' screens during the app's shutdown and subsequent reinstatement. Both messages prominently mentioned Donald Trump and his role in saving the app also referring to him as the President even though he had not actually been inaugurated yet. Chelsea Jordan posted a separate viral video which criticised the shutdown messages saying: It screams propaganda and you can't convince me otherwise.Another user commented below this video, likening Trump to a narcissist: A narcissist taking something away and then giving it back is a common manipulative tactic used to control their victims by creating a cycle of dependency and uncertainty. The comment received 12.5 thousand likes with many replying to it and affirming its message. Commenters also pointed out how this messaging seemed to highlight the influence of a powerful elite, with one user likening it to an oligarchy- a government controlled by a few extremely wealthy individuals.TikTok was unavailable for millions of users over the weekend. | TikTok was unavailable for millions of users over the weekend. CHRIS DELMAS/AFP via Getty ImagesHamrick describes how one creator she follows explained that every single comment in her comment section about Trump, or talking negatively about TikTok has to be approved, and remains censored if not. This means she is left with thousands of comments she has to manually approve.Intrigued by this video, they tried to share it with her friends through Messenger but says, despite encountering no issues with sharing other TikTok videos that day, this specific video failed to be sent as a link. She then tried to share a video about the CEO of TikTok reposting MAGA (Make America Great Again) content and faced the same issue, which furthered her concerns about selective censorship.Similarly, another user, Alyssa Jay, reported issues when trying to share a video comparing Chinas free healthcare system and lower living costs to the US She received a message stating, sharing is limited to one chat at a time, and upon attempting to share further, another warning appeared: You have reached the sharing limit. This is to limit the spread of potentially harmful content. This was not something that she had experienced prior to the ban. In response to the message displayed, Jay argued: This video wasnt harmful; it was just comparing the freedoms of two different countries. It feels like our freedom of speech is being chipped away.Read MoreMany users have also noticed changes to TikToks live-streaming feature. Lives no longer appear in feeds as frequently, which Hamrick speculated could be due to the difficulty of censoring live content in real time. While some users noted that lives are still accessible if intentionally searched for, they agreed that it has become harder to stumble upon them organically.Additionally, reports have surfaced about political content being removed from the platform. Videos of protests during Trumps inauguration and those linking the California wildfires to climate change have seemingly disappeared from the algorithm. Users across the US and Europe have also reported being unable to search or comment on certain phrases, such as Free Luigi Mangione. In one now-deleted TikTok video, a user shared that upon opening Facebook, she was immediately prompted to link her TikTok account to the Facebook app - a feature she had never encountered before.This has fuelled speculation that TikToks CEO, Shou Zi Chew, may have sold portions of the platform - or at least its data - to the US government during the blackout. Critics point to Chews unexpected attendance at Trumps inauguration and the apps sudden pro-Trump messaging as potential evidence of a deal, despite earlier denials.Shou Zi Chew, who became TikToks CEO in 2021, has a background in finance and technology. He previously worked as an investment banker at Goldman Sachs and later as the CFO of Xiaomi, a Chinese electronics company. His tenure at TikTok has been marked by attempts to navigate geopolitical tensions and maintain the apps global popularity. Recently, Chew faced criticism after being seen reposting videos in support of Trump on his personal TikTok account. Although these posts were quickly deleted, they added to suspicions about his alignment with the former president and potential compromises made to keep TikTok operational in the US.Although none of these claims have been officially confirmed, they raise serious concerns about potential changes happening behind the scenes. The abrupt return of TikTok, coupled with these reports has led many to question whether the platform has been sold or if covert changes are reshaping its functionality and purpose.