Metro Detroit content creators are concerned about the impending ban of TikTok.
Volunteer Erin Moore said that if the social media app is banned, it could make it harder for Animal House of South East Michigan to rescue cats.
“I’m hoping it won’t for the sake of the rescue,” said Moore, who posts on TikTok about the cats the rescue takes in.
One video featuring a cat named Coraline has garnered 22.8 million views. Caroline was found with ruptured eyes.
Moore said the rescue’s reach on TikTok far surpasses that on other social media platforms, which translates into financial support.
“Every year, we need more support. And I feel like local support is great, but when you can reach the entire world,” Moore said.
President Joe Biden signed a law last April that required TikTok to divest from its Chinese ownership and sell to a U.S. company, or it would be shut down due to national security concerns.
A U.S. Supreme Court decision on the matter is looming.
If the high court declares the law unconstitutional, TikTok could continue to exist in its current form.
That would be welcomed by Katie Greenstone, a Metro Detroit-based content creator with nearly 120,000 followers on TikTok.
“Tiktok has grown my business, personally and professionally. So, picking up brand deals and being able to connect with brands, I’ve done that more on TikTok in the last five years than I have on Instagram in the last ten years,” Greenstone said.
Content creators hope a solution will be reached before the ban goes into effect on Sunday (Jan. 19).
“I see so much of a benefit to continue the community that’s growing on TikTok safely,” Greenstone said. “I want to see it continue to operate in the United States.”
Moore agrees.
“I don’t think they are realizing the community it’s built and the people it supports and the difference that it’s made in so many different organizations such as ours, small businesses, just people in general that have the needs to find other income sources,” Moore said.