1/22/25 Update: The TikTok ban went into effect on the evening of Sunday, January 19, making it impossible for users with an American phone number to utilize the app. Just a day later on Monday, January 20, TikTok access was fully restored in the United States. On the same day, President Trump signed an executive order postponing enforcement of the TikTok ban by 75 days.
1/15/25 Update: As of Jan. 15, it has been reported that the Biden administration is looking into ways to keep TikTok from shutting down in the United States. TikTok is currently scheduled to be banned in the U.S. as of Sunday, Jan. 19. Also as of reporting, the Supreme Court has not intervened or overturned the ban.
Social media platforms are undergoing seismic shifts and LGBTQ+ creators are facing uncertainty about their digital futures, both personally and professionally. With TikTok facing a U.S. ban on Jan. 19, Meta rolling back content moderation and diversity initiatives, and alternative platforms still in their infancy, marginalized communities are facing challenges.
For content creators, these changes threaten not just their reach and finances, but the safe, inclusive spaces they’ve worked hard to build online. Here’s what these shifts mean for LGBTQ+ voices and the future of digital community building.
Meg Ten Eyck is the CEO of EveryQueer, a travel company that provides “travel content, curated lesbian parties, and worldwide LGBTQ tours.” A longtime queer travel influencer and content creator, Ten Eyck has over 40,000 followers on Instagram and 9,400 on TikTok. She expressed her concerns about the TikTok ban and how it would be a detriment to marginalized communities.
“TikTok is one of the most effective platforms for information exchange and community organizing,” said Ten Eyck. “We are one of the last remaining media outlets for queer women in North America. EveryQueer has thrived on TikTok, finding a vibrant and supportive community there. The platform’s algorithm fosters genuine connection and organic reach in ways other platforms simply don’t. A ban would severely disrupt our ability to reach and engage with our audience, particularly those who rely on TikTok for LGBTQ+ news, education, and community.”
Annie Segarra is a queer content creator and disability advocate who has over 50,000 followers collectively between Instagram and TikTok. For Segarra, TikTok is not only a place for posting content, but a space for building community.
“If TikTok disappears, we’re losing a place where creativity, authenticity, and activism thrive,” said Segarra. “For LGBTQ+, disabled, BIPOC folks, especially, it’s been an affirming and informative space. Losing that isn’t just about a platform—it’s personal.”
Caroline Kingsbury, a musician who has become popular on TikTok and Instagram for her new wave-tinged queer pop music, shared her dismay with the upcoming TikTok ban.
“The USA claiming that it’s just trying to protect American citizens by banning TikTok is BS,” said Kingsbury. “The U.S. TikTok ban is restricting our freedom of speech. Especially for the LGBTQIA+ community. It’s a platform for everyone. There’s a weird corner of TikTok for literally any person of any gender or sexuality or background with any kind of interest. Let alone it’s eliminating a platform for ordinary people to make extra money.”
Kingsbury stressed that TikTok has changed people’s lives, hers included, and that the government’s safety priorities are focused on the wrong place.
“If our government actually cared about our protection and safety they would provide universal healthcare and raise the minimum wage,” said Kingsbury. “They would enact climate policy, ‘To protect people.’ Creators and influencers rely on TikTok in the U.S. because most people here don’t make enough money from full time jobs to live how we really want to live. TikTok is like a lottery where with enough determination you can win at least something.”
On Jan. 7, Meta founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg took to his platforms to announce that Meta would be eliminating content moderation and fact-checking, opting for a community notes system similar to Elon Musk’s X platform. This announcement came along with the phasing out of Meta’s diversity and inclusion department and changes to the company’s hateful conduct rules.
On Jan. 14, GLAAD, Human Rights Campaign, American Association of People with Disabilities and several other former Meta civil rights advisors, penned an open letter to Zuckerberg. The group, which was not informed of Meta’s policy changes, said “Meta’s failure to engage even its own advisory group of external civil rights experts shows a cynical disregard for its diverse user base and calls into question Meta’s commitment to the free speech principles to which it claims to want to ‘return.’”
The letter also calls the changes in the Hateful Conduct rules into question.
“The new Hateful Conduct policy will now allow far more anti-LGBTQ, racist, anti-immigrant, and ableist content on Meta’s services globally,” said the letter. “For example, the policy now permits “allegations of mental illness or abnormality when based on gender or sexual orientation” in religious and political discourse. This exception applies only to LGBTQ persons, opening them up to discriminatory harassment and degradation.”
For Ten Eyck, Meta’s decision is disheartening.
“Rolling back content moderation and fact-checking, especially around anti-LGBTQ+ language, creates a hostile and unsafe environment,” said Ten Eyck. “As a creator who has dedicated years to building a platform on Instagram, I’m appalled by this shift in priorities.”
Ten Eyck points out, however, that Meta’s older policies didn’t do much to begin with to block anti-LGBTQ+ harassment for her and her accounts.
“I’ve had to block more than 1000 accounts on Instagram from posting hate speech on my account,” said Ten Eyck. “Reporting those accounts rarely had results or consequences regardless of the severity of the comments. Despite that, rolling back the content moderation undermines the trust and safety that LGBTQ+ creators and communities have come to rely on and emboldens bigots. Closing the DEI department and scaling back diversity initiatives further signals a disregard for inclusivity and representation.
Segarra describes Meta’s rollbacks as “devastating.”
“These rollbacks make it clear that protecting marginalized communities is no longer a priority—if it ever truly was,” said Segarra. “Cutting content moderation, letting anti-LGBTQ+ hate run unchecked and eliminating diversity initiatives will make platforms like Instagram and Facebook even more hostile.”
Segarra, who has spent years building her platform and community on Instagram, shares that these changes make it difficult to feel safe now on Instagram.
“These platforms were supposed to be spaces where we could educate, advocate, and build community,” said Segarra. “Now it feels like our safety and well-being are being deprioritized. For so many of us, these changes make it harder to feel safe, supported, or even welcome online.”
Kingsbury has found significant success on Instagram’s Reels, even over TikTok.
“It was really with the addition of Reels and this new culture of just a constant stream of content that allowed a musician like me (10 years into this with 30+ songs released) to really get my work out there for people to discover.”
However, she expressed disillusionment at the direction Zuckerberg and Meta is taking.
“I know it’s just a social media platform and as long as they don’t censor LGBTQIA+ humans we can organize and fight,” said Kingsbury. “I just worry about censorship. He (Zuckerberg) seems to be aligning himself with the upcoming conservative nightmare administration. So much crazy shit is happening over here right now.”
With sweeping changes to social media platforms, queer creators are looking ahead to the future and where they may end up.
“We are actively exploring alternative platforms and expanding our presence on existing ones,” said Ten Eyck. “We are committed to finding spaces where our community can thrive and feel safe. We will continue to advocate for a more inclusive and safer online experience for all, regardless of the platform.
Ten Eyck however, remains steadfast in her dedication to her online communities.
“These recent developments underscore the precarious nature of online spaces for marginalized communities,” said Ten Eyck. “We must remain vigilant and continue to advocate for platforms that prioritize safety, inclusivity, and genuine connection. While the future remains uncertain, EveryQueer is committed to finding new ways to connect, educate, and empower the LGBTQ+ community.”
Segarra has begun looking at new alternatives, and even returning to some older platforms like Youtube and Tumblr.
“Starting over is never easy, but as LGBTQ+, disabled, and BIPOC communities, we’ve always had to adapt,” said Segarra. “I’m optimistic; I feel that when one space stops being safe or inclusive, we find ways to create something better. That resilience is part of who we are, we adapt and create better spaces—like we always have.”
This article was first posted on News Is Out.