(Bloomberg) -- TikTok generated $1.7 billion globally in sales from TikTok Live in just one quarter in 2023, with more than $400 million of that coming from the US, according to a newly unsealed lawsuit brought against the company in Washington. TikTok projects that the popular livestreaming feature will generate $77 billion globally by 2027, the complaint claims.
Most Read from Bloomberg
-
Cuts to Section 8 Housing Assistance Loom Amid HUD Uncertainty
-
NYC Office Buildings See Resurgence as Investors Pile Into Bonds
-
Hong Kong Joins Global Stadium Race With New $4 Billion Sports Park
The numbers surfaced Monday are part of a lawsuit filed in October by District of Columbia Attorney General Brian Schwalb alleging rampant sexual and financial exploitation of children on Live, where TikTokers can broadcast in real-time to billions of strangers around the world. Viewers can spend real money to send streamers digital tips in the form of lighthearted gifts like virtual ice cream cones and fluffy animals. Streamers can then redeem those gifts for cash while TikTok takes a cut.
The new financial data, which hasn’t been previously reported, offers a unique glimpse into TikTok’s business as the company faces a possible ban in the US. As a private company, TikTok’s financial data is not public, which has made valuing the app and its US business a difficult task. TikTok Live is one of the app’s most popular features, and has become even more central to the platform since the launch of TikTok Shop in late 2023 because sellers and creators lean increasingly on livestreams to sell products.
The complaint, citing a 2022 Forbes investigation that showed adult men have regularly used TikTok’s virtual gifting system to coax minors into performing racy acts, described TikTok Live as “operating in part like a virtual strip club” and accused the company of breaking consumer protection and money transmission laws by making false or misleading statements about how safe young users are on the platform.
A bipartisan group of attorneys general from more than a dozen states filed separate lawsuits against TikTok last year over various alleged harms to kids. Utah, Vermont, New Hampshire and Kentucky also focused their complaints on TikTok Live.
“This lawsuit ignores the number of proactive measures that TikTok has voluntarily implemented to support community safety and well-being,” a TikTok spokesperson said via email. “Instead, the complaint cherry-picks misleading quotes and outdated documents and presents them out of context, which distorts our commitment to the safety of our community.”