TikTok Users talking about
“#cute #winter #boots” keeping people safe from "ice," are referencing U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

"Cute winter boots" is just the latest example of #algospeak,
-- coded phrases and words aimed at subverting algorithmic filters.

As the U.S. government seeks to enact stricter controls over speech online, TikTok users are adopting more coded language specifically aimed at criticizing the government and alerting others to government surveillance of online spaces.

For instance, the phrase
"#Senator, #Im #Singaporean,"
a quote uttered by TikTok's CEO Shou Chew in response to Sen. Tom Cotton's racist line of questioning implying that Chew was a Chinese government agent,
is now frequently posted in the comments of videos by users seeking to warn others about the content they're posting.

The phrase "Senator, I'm Singaporean," has come to mean that a video is not something that the government wants, or that they're going to show this type of video to congress, a creator explained.

https://www.usermag.co/p/tiktok-cute-winter-boots-meaning-explained-algospeak