How TikTok's new ad campaign is rallying users against Senate vote

TikTok has released a $2.1 million ad campaign against a House-passed bill that would force the platform's Chinese parent company, ByteDance, to divest from TikTok or face a ban. The campaign depicts users discussing how TikTok has helped their livelihood, with one user claiming five million small business owners rely on the platform to provide for their families.

Yahoo Finance's Akiko Fujita joins the Live Show to discuss the reaction to the ad and how the campaign is targeting vulnerable Senate Democrats up for reelection.

For more expert insight and the latest market action, click here to watch this full episode of Yahoo Finance Live.

Editor's Note: This article was written by Gabriel Roy.

Video Transcript

- There is no doubt that I would not have found the success that I have today without TikTok.

- TikTok has made me a better teacher. It's helped me to connect with people far beyond my classroom.

- Think about the 5 million small business owners that rely on TikTok to provide for their families.

MADISON MILLS: What you just saw was TikTok's new ad campaign. The social media platform aiming it at senators, urging them to vote against a House-passed bill that could ban the popular app. Here to weigh in, we have Yahoo Finance's Akiko Fujita. And Akiko, thank you so much for joining us on this. This isn't the first time I've seen an ad like this while on the TikTok app for 10 hours every day, but it's taken a lot more of a serious tone.

AKIKO FUJITA: Yeah. When you think about before the House introduced this bill, you saw some of those ads, right? TikTok sort of showing a little patriotic side, if you will, to appeal to American users. But this certainly points to the fact that TikTok is digging in their heels, showing no signs of backing down as lawmakers call for the platform to be divested from its parent company, or Chinese parent company, I should say, ByteDance, or risk being banned.

As you guys just mentioned, this time, running ads targeting battleground states and vulnerable Democrats. The $2.1 million ad campaign shows users talking about how the platform has helped their livelihood. You've got one user saying there are 5 million small business owners who use the platform to provide for their families. And then another one saying, we have to make enough noise about this so they don't take away our voice. Those are their words.

And this is all part of the platform's pressure campaign to rally its 170 million users against lawmakers who are calling for the divestiture. And we've spoken to a number of influencers here at Yahoo Finance who said, look, we have reached out to TikTok to say, we are ready to fight for you. Now, the House, as you guys mentioned, has already passed this bill. The president has said he would sign the bill.

But the Senate has made it clear that they're not in a rush to try and get this passed, which is exactly why we've seen this platform, TikTok, going after senators specifically now. CNBC reporting TikTok has placed ads in Nevada, Montana, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, and Ohio. That's according to data they cited from AdImpact, and those are states where there are vulnerable Senate Democrats who are fighting for another six-year term.

And the thinking here is, of course, you've got 170 million users. Many of them very young, right? And if you can rally those users to go out and vote, then maybe senators will think twice about pushing for this. So that's the strategy, at least for now. But we've heard a number of senators who've come out and said, look, we do agree with the premise that there's concerns around this platform because of its Chinese owner, but we're not necessarily comfortable going with a-- the House bill and the language there. So could be a little drawn out.

SEANA SMITH: Yeah. So Akiko, speaking of it being drawn on this pathway uncertain, obviously to say the least within the Senate, what does that process then potentially look like? Any idea of the timeline? And then, when you talk about the backlash, you also got to think about the upcoming election and what it could mean for President Biden versus Trump, who's recently changed his tune about all of this.

AKIKO FUJITA: Yeah. I mean, not even President Biden. We're talking about these Senate Democrats, right? And that sort of seems to be the strategy here. I mean, if you think about what we've heard from senators those like Mark Warner as well as Maria Cantwell, they've said that look there is a national security concern. But if you pass the House bill as is and you target one specific company, that opens up a whole other can of worms, and what does that mean ultimately?

So it feels like that's kind of where the discussion is happening. The question is whether they're going to draw this out until it moves past the election. It's still to be determined how significant an election impact could be because, yes, they've got a lot of users that are young, but those voters don't necessarily always turn out.