MOSCOW, March 15 — TikTok’s revenues in the United States (US) spiralled up to a record US$16 billion (RM75.2 billion) last year as the social media giant braces for the possibility of being banned in US territory this year.
Sputnik reported on people familiar with the matter, as cited by a Financial Times report today.
On Wednesday (March 13), the US House of Representatives passed legislation that requires TikTok either to be sold to a non-Chinese company within 180 days or face a ban in the US, amid concerns about user privacy and foreign influence ahead of the November presidential election.
However, the bill still needs to be approved by the Senate and signed into law by President Joe Biden.
ByteDance, the platform’s China-based owner, generated as much as US$120 billion (RM564.5 billion) last year, a 40 per cent increase compared with the year before.
This was primarily driven by TikTok’s sales, even though most of it comes from the Chinese market. However Financial Times could not obtain a confirmation comment from ByteDance.
A US ban would cause serious consequences for both TikTok and its parent company, as numerous US influencers leaving the platform could decrease its attractiveness to users in other countries as well.
For its part, China has repeatedly opposed the forced sale of TikTok, while TikTok head Shou Zi Chew has made it clear that should the legislation be passed, the platform would be banned.
The US has long banned TikTok on all US government devices and some state government devices. The social media platform has been thoroughly studied by the US authorities, who are concerned the app may be used by the Chinese government to collect information on users and to spread propaganda.
— Bernama
