A lawsuit out of Washington is pulling back the curtain on TikTok Live, and the numbers are jaw-dropping. The live-streaming feature of the app, where users can broadcast to fans in real-time, is already a money-making machine. And it’s only going to get bigger — much bigger — in the next couple of years.
The lawsuit, filed by District of Columbia Attorney General Brian Schwalb, accuses TikTok Live of being a hotbed for exploiting kids, both sexually and financially. While those allegations are serious, the real shocker comes from the financial details tucked inside the complaint.
In just one quarter of 2023, TikTok Live raked in $1.7 billion worldwide. Over $400 million of that came straight from the US. Looking ahead, the company expects the feature to balloon to a whopping $77 billion globally by 2027, as highlighted by Bloomberg. That’s a massive leap in just two years, showing how much TikTok is banking on its live-streaming goldmine.
So how does TikTok Live make all this cash? It’s pretty simple. Users watch their favorite streamers and send them virtual gifts — like digital flowers or cartoon pandas. These gifts cost real money to buy, and streamers can cash them out later. TikTok, of course, takes a slice of every transaction. The lawsuit paints a dark picture, claiming this setup has let grown men push kids into doing inappropriate things for gifts. TikTok says that’s not true and insists it’s working hard to keep teens safe.
Here in the US, those numbers matter even more because TikTok’s future is shaky. A new law could kick the app out unless its Chinese owner, ByteDance, sells the US business to someone else. ByteDance isn’t budging yet, and with a deadline creeping closer, the stakes are high. In just the few weeks where the app was pulled from US app stores, TikTok lost out on over $140 million. But even with that taken into account, the US operations are still only a small slice of ByteDance’s pie.
Lawmakers worry about more than just money — they’re scared TikTok could be a tool to spy on or influence American kids. Still, TikTok Live keeps growing. Since TikTok Shop launched in 2023, creators and sellers have leaned hard into live streams to hawk products, boosting its popularity. Globally, that $77 billion projection shows the app’s ambition. But for now, the US is where the spotlight — and the legal fight — is the brightest.
Dwayne Cubbins
735 Posts
For nearly a decade, I've been deciphering the complexities of the tech world, with a particular passion for helping users navigate the ever-changing tech landscape. From crafting in-depth guides that unlock your phone's hidden potential to uncovering and explaining the latest bugs and glitches, I make sure you get the most out of your devices. And yes, you might occasionally find me ranting about some truly frustrating tech mishaps.
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