TikTok’s odd behavior was caused by a tech issue—but users’ response indicates the app has a trust problem

Anyone wanting to get their TikTok fix in the United States recently had a rough time. The app went haywire, kicking off early on the morning of January 25, due to a power outage at a key data center that knocked out services nationwide. Users reported the app crashing, with videos getting stuck and refusing to play, upload, or even hit a single view.

The app’s vaunted For You page turned into a glitchy mess, looping stale old clips and throwing out thoroughly non-personalized recommendations...