TikTok on Thursday released an economic impact report touting the benefits of the controversial app in its latest public relations effort to thwart efforts to ban the platform in the United States.
The commissioned study, authored by Oxford Economics, claims that TikTok generated $14.7 billion in revenue across 12 major sectors of the U.S. economy and contributed $24.2 billion to overall GDP in 2023.
“TikTok is [small and medium-size businesses] “Grow by allowing them to market themselves organically and/or through paid advertising and investment in creator marketing,” the study states.
The data, first reported by The Washington Post, examines the far-reaching impact of the app, which has grown to 170 million active users and more than 7 million businesses. The study surveyed 1,050 of these companies and 7,500 TikTok users.
The report comes as the Senate considers a bill that would force TikTok's Chinese parent company ByteDance to sell its U.S. assets. If passed overwhelmingly in the House of Representatives, the bill would set a six-month deadline for sales or a ban would be imposed.
Lawmakers have long argued that the app's ties to China pose a national security risk, but CEO Shou Zi Chew categorically denied any Chinese Communist Party influence in Congressional testimony.
TikTok has been focused on influencing the Senate vote in recent weeks, as lawmakers have publicly expressed skepticism about passing the House bill as it stands.
The company recently launched a $2.1 million ad campaign opposing the bill in five key battleground states where Democratic senators are in tight re-election races to win an additional six-year term. Secured TV advertising space.
The ad purported to feature app users talking about the benefits of TikTok. “Think of the 5 million small business owners who rely on TikTok to feed their families,” one user said in the ad.
Supporters of the de facto ban, including former Vice President Mike Pence, are fighting back with their own ad campaigns. According to National Review, Pence's conservative advocacy group Advancing American Freedom spent $2 million on television and digital ads in Nevada, Montana, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Ohio and Washington, D.C. It is reported that they are considering it.
An economic report commissioned by TikTok analyzed the platform's impact on 12 sectors and found that 45% of those surveyed said they owed “a significant part of their business success” to the company. It pointed out.
The report said the biggest impact was seen in the food and beverage sector, where TikTok contributed $6.4 billion in revenue and created 73,000 jobs in 2023.
The report claims that the company has contributed to the creation of a total of 224,000 jobs in the sectors covered.
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