Omer Taha Cetin | Anadolu | Getty Images
TikTok and its China-based parent company ByteDance have spent a combined $7 million so far this year to stop Congress from passing legislation that could ban the social media app in the United States.
ByteDance alone spent a record $2.68 million on internal TikTok lobbyists to target congressional and federal officials in the first three months of the year, according to new lobbying disclosure reports. TikTok spent more than $4.5 million this year on a television and digital advertising campaign to push back against laws that could ban the app, according to data from AdImpact.
“These expenses reflect the work we are doing to educate policymakers about how the legislation could impact our community of 170 million American users,” a TikTok spokesperson said of the expenses.
The revelations show how TikTok officials lobbied Congress and President Joe Biden’s executive office in the last quarter. The Executive Office of the President includes, among others, the National Security Council, the Office of Management and Budget, and the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative.
The House of Representatives passed its latest TikTok bill on Saturday, which if signed into law would give ByteDance about nine months to divest the social media app or face a ban in the United States
The Senate will vote on the latest TikTok bill on Tuesday. The Senate first passed a procedural vote on a foreign aid package that includes the new TikTok legislation. The successful vote is a sign that the package could be close to final approval.
The House of Representatives passed a similar bill in March that would have given ByteDance about six months to divest the TikTok assets, but that legislation has since stalled in the Senate.
Recent spending on internal lobbying does not take into account other payments to external consultants. According to a disclosure report, veteran lobbyist David Urban received $80,000 from ByteDance last quarter to try to influence Congress in March over its proposed legislation targeting the tech company.
This is the most Urban’s firm, LGL Advisors, has received from ByteDance in a given quarter, according to federal lobbying data.
Urban did not respond to a request for comment. A White House spokesman did not respond to an email seeking comment.
TikTok has spent over $400,000 on outside lobbying firms in Washington since Jan. 1.
According to data from OpenSecrets, ByteDance spent the highest amount on lobbying in the first quarter of 2023, at over $1.8 million. ByteDance and TikTok spent over $8 million on lobbying in 2023.
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2024-04-23 18:49:04
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