TikTok’s parent company ByteDance spent more than $10 million on lobbying last year, marking the company’s most expensive lobbying year to date.
According to a Q4 lobbying disclosure report filed Tuesday, ByteDance spent $2.3 million on expenses related to lobbying activity between Oct. 1 through the end of the year.
That disclosure brings the total amount of expenses from 2024 up to a total o $10.36 million—breaking 2023’s previous record-setting spend of $8.74 million.
Prior to 2023, the company’s annual lobbying expenses were much lower, totaling $4.94 million in 2022; $4.74 million in 2021; and $2.58 million in 2020.
The filings state that lobbying over the past year focused on data security, data localization, platform/content moderation, protecting children, federal privacy and protection legislation, and more.
The massive uptick in lobbying came as the video sharing app was placed under intense scrutiny from lawmakers, with the Senate passing legislation in April that would force China-based ByteDance to divest or face a ban.
The company also came under fire in the wake of Hamas’ Oct. 7 attacks and Israel’s war in Gaza, with some lawmakers accusing the app of advancing antisemitic talking points and an anti-Israel agenda. (TikTok has denied allowing antisemitic content or posts promoting Hamas.)
The ban-or-sale legislation was signed into law by former President Joe Biden, though he opted not to enforce it in his final day as president.
And the app has thus far avoided an outright ban, after currying favor with President Donald Trump—who himself previously supported a ban.
On Monday, in one of his first acts as president, Trump gave TikTok a 75-day reprieve as his administration determines an “appropriate course forward in an orderly way that protects national security while avoiding an abrupt shutdown.”
TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew was in attendance at Trump’s inauguration.
In a TikTok video posted prior to the executive order, Chew credited Trump, saying: “On behalf of TikTok and all our users across the country, I want to thank President Trump for his commitment to work with us to find a solution that keeps TikTok available in the United States.”
As a Singaporean foreign national, Chew is not able to make political contributions to U.S. candidates or parties.
And because ByteDance does not have a political action committee arm, most of the company’s political-related spending is coming through lobbying and advertisements.
But the company did make at least one spend that likely wouldn’t be required to be reported on disclosure forms in the future: sponsoring an inauguration party where conservative TikTok influencers were praised for their role in helping Trump get reelected.
Internet culture is chaotic—but we’ll break it down for you in one daily email. Sign up for the Daily Dot’s web_crawlr newsletter here. You’ll get the best (and worst) of the internet straight into your inbox.