Apr 18, 2024 - 19:05
By cnbc.com

TikTok doubles ad buy to fight potential U.S. ban as Congress moves to fast-track legislation

TikTok more than doubled its ad spend to over $4.5 million in a campaign to combat a potential U.S. ban.
TikTok has spent over $2.5 million on television ads alone since March.
The popular social media app has spent almost $900,000 on digital advertisements.
TikTok's "Keep It" ad argues that U.S. businesses use the app to promote their brands and ends with #KeepTikTok. The app has over 150 million U.S. users.

TikTok more than doubled its ad spend to over $4.5 million in a campaign to combat a potential U.S. ban as Congress looks to fast-track legislation to push parent company ByteDance to divest the social media app.

TikTok has spent over $2.5 million on television ads alone since March, according to data from AdImpact. The popular social media company has spent almost $900,000 on digital advertisements, according to the data.

The data from AdImpact in late March showed TikTok initially purchased $2.1 million in advertising.

The House recently tied a new bill with legislation providing further aid to Ukraine and Israel that, if signed into law, would give ByteDance nine months to divest TikTok or the app would be banned in the U.S. The House could vote on the bill as soon as Saturday.

President Joe Biden has said he would sign such a bill into law if it came to his desk. The bill contains a provision that would allow ByteDance an additional 90 days from the nine-month divestiture period if there is progress toward a sale.

TikTok's boosted ad spend could act as a last stand as the new bill appears to have key support in the Senate.