Congress is voting on a TikTok ban. Chinese parent ByteDance has been accused of using the app to spy on Americans and their habits. ByteDance will sue, and the ban may only take effect well into the future if it loses that suit. TikTok has at least 170 million users in the United States. If it is pushed out of the market, the biggest winner is Meta Platforms Inc.(NASDAQ: META), parent of Facebook and Instagram. The latter is often viewed as TikTok’s primary rival.
Instagram has 1.2 billion active users, but not all are in the United States. How Instagram and TikTok measure users may differ, so a straight comparison may be difficult. According to the Financial Times, a probably accurate number is that TikTok’s U.S. revenue is $16 billion. Meta’s total revenue last year was $135 billion, so the TikTok U.S. revenue would be more than a trivial addition. Even if TikTok disappeared in the United States tomorrow, some of that money would go to other rivals. However, Meta would almost certainly be a significant beneficiary. (See the fastest-growing brands in each state this year.)
The federal government has successfully banned Chinese products in the recent past. It blocked the sales of many Huawei Technologies and ZTE products. The U.S. Federal Communications Commission called them an “unacceptable risk.” That decision did not go through Congress but damaged these companies nonetheless. At one point, Huawei said the U.S. action cut its revenue by 29%.
TikTok faces an existential crisis in America. And Meta, an American company, may benefit.
∴
ALERT: Take This Retirement Quiz Now (Sponsored)
Take the quiz below to get matched with a financial advisor today.
Each advisor has been vetted by SmartAsset and is held to a fiduciary standard to act in your best interests.
Here’s how it works:
1. Answer SmartAsset advisor match quiz
2. Review your pre-screened matches at your leisure. Check out the advisors’ profiles.
3. Speak with advisors at no cost to you. Have an introductory call on the phone or introduction in person and choose whom to work with in the future
Take the retirement quiz right here.
Thank you for reading! Have some feedback for us?
Contact the 24/7 Wall St. editorial team.
Editors' Picks
