ByteDance, the parent company of TikTok, and the platform itself have ramped up their spending on lobbying Congress and advertising in swing states, as pressure from the U.S. government mounts on the Chinese tech company to sell TikTok or face a ban. During the first quarter of 2024, ByteDance spent over $2.6 million on lobbying activities, according to mandatory disclosures. This is a significant increase from the $3.7 million that ByteDance spent on lobbying during the third quarter of last year.
In addition to lobbying expenses, TikTok has also invested heavily in a consumer-facing advertising campaign, spending $4.5 million this year on ads, including a $2.5 million television campaign in key swing states like Ohio and Pennsylvania. This brings the total spending from both ad buys and lobbying expenses to close to $8 million, which was the total amount ByteDance spent lobbying Congress for all of 2023. TikTok spokesperson Alex Haurek stated that this expenditure reflects the company’s efforts to educate policymakers about how legislation could impact its community of 170 million American users.
Earlier this year, the House of Representatives passed a bill that would require ByteDance to sell TikTok within nine months or face a ban in the U.S., citing national security concerns. The Senate is expected to pass the ban when it votes later Tuesday night after passing a key procedural hurdle. President Joe Biden has indicated that he would sign a TikTok ban into law, although the platform has pushed back, arguing that a ban would violate the First Amendment rights of its users and small businesses that rely on the platform for growth.
Former President Donald Trump, who had previously attempted to ban TikTok through executive orders during his presidency, has become a prominent critic of the ban. He has defended the app this year, saying that banning TikTok would only benefit Facebook and its CEO Mark Zuckerberg. Trump has referred to Facebook as the “enemy of the people” and suggested that a TikTok ban would only serve to make Zuckerberg richer. Despite these criticisms, the pressure on ByteDance and TikTok to sell the platform or face a ban continues to intensify.
In response to the mounting pressure, ByteDance and TikTok have increased their lobbying and advertising efforts in an attempt to sway policymakers and defend the platform against a potential ban. With millions of dollars invested in lobbying activities and advertising campaigns, the company is making a strong push to protect its presence in the U.S. market and ensure that its millions of American users can continue to access the popular video-sharing app. The outcome of the Senate’s vote on the TikTok ban will be closely watched as the battle between the Chinese tech company and the U.S. government rages on.
