ByteDance turned a $25 billion profit last year, but the TikTok ban threats keep coming

TikTok ban threats. Scandalous spy operations. Cultural clashes. ByteDance‘s 2022 was filled with controversies, but despite all the negative press, the Beijing-based corporation still managed to turn a profit. A report in The Economist claims that ByteDance made $25 billion in gross operating profit last year, even as it battled efforts to restrict its most famous app.

The Economist noted that ByteDance’s 2022 profit outpaced two of its main rivals in its home country: Alibaba and Tencent. The Chinese version of TikTok, Douyin, accounted for a big chunk of that $25 billion figure. Ecommerce and social shopping are major tends among Douyin users.

On Douyin and TikTok, profit per monthly active user stayed relatively flat between 2021 and 2022. In comparison, both Facebook/Instagram and YouTube declined on that axis. Both Meta and Google have endured major rounds of layoffs in recent months. Meanwhile, TikTok has hired aggressively in the U.S. in hopes of passing a security deal it has dubbed Project Texas.

Though ByteDance has spent at least $1.5 billion on Project Texas (and millions more on its lobbying operation in Washington), it has yet to convince lawmakers that it can protect the TikTok data of American users. Federal efforts to ban the popular app have met opposition, but on the state level, governments are going full speed ahead. An effort to ban TikTok in Montana has passed critical votes and seems destined for the desk of Republican Governor Greg Gianforte.

The Montana bill would issue a fine of $10,000 per day to app stores that give users the opportunity to download TikTok. Opponents of the legislation have argued that it’s not possible to “geofence” apps, which would make it tricky to enforce the law. Montanan officials have disagreed, citing the state-by-state legality of sports betting apps. Even if lawmakers find a way to police app stores, they won’t be able to stop users from accessing TikTok via a virtual private network (VPN).

Criticisms of the Montana bill have come from creators, the ACLU, and TikTok officials. In a statement, TikTok vowed to “continue to fight for TikTok users and creators in Montana whose livelihoods and First Amendment rights are threatened by this egregious government overreach.” Montana-based moccasin merchant Shauna White Bear is one local entrepreneur who has claimed that her livelihood would be affected if she were to lose access to TikTok.

@whitebearmocs Speaking on behalf of small business owners using TikTok. 💪🏽🪶 Don’t be afraid to get out of your comfort zone @filmbyvictoria #indigenouswomen #whitebearmoccasins #mtlovestiktok #tiktokban #smallbussinessowner ♬ original sound – white_bear_moccasins

Montana was one of the first states to bar TikTok on government devices, and its statehouse looks ready to take further action against ByteDance. The fate of the bill will be decided soon, and observers across the country — and in China — will be watching.

[UPDATE 4/17: Montana has officially passed a law that aims to ban TikTok. Legislators in Big Sky Country will now attempt to enforce the wide-reaching mandate.]