TikTok Projects $77 Billion in Sales From TikTok Live, Lawsuit Claims
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.
Photographer: Kent Nishimura/BloombergTikTok 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.
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.