A new U.S. law signed by President Joe Biden on April 24 is forcing ByteDance, the parent company of TikTok, to sell the app by Jan. 19 or face a ban in the United States. Meanwhile, a potential buyer has emerged and he’s hoping to fundamentally change the app and social media.
Former Los Angeles Dodgers owner, billionaire Frank McCourt, said on Wednesday, May 15, his organization, Project Liberty, is gathering bidders to buy TikTok.
McCourt said his goal is reinvent and reimagine how TikTok and the internet considers data and privacy. McCourt told The New York Times that the timing is right.
“This seemed like a great opportunity to actually create the alternative to the current internet, which has been colonized by large platforms,” McCourt said.
In another interview with Semafor, McCourt praised the app but also offered a serious warning.
“TikTok presents the best and the worst of the internet,” McCourt said. “It connects 170 million people and allows them to be creative and build things and enjoy things and do things. On the other hand, they don’t get to really share in the value that’s created, and their data is scraped and stolen and shipped to China.”
McCourt said that his takeover could help people “control their identity and control their data.” His organization is already working to limit the control that tech giants like Facebook and TikTok have over user information.
McCourt’s bid is still early on and he hasn’t named a valuation. Selling TikTok is reportedly difficult because of its algorithms, which are critical to the app’s success. McCourt said he “doubts” China would sell TikTok with the algorithm, but he’s interested without the algorithm. McCourt said it’s because he is “talking about a different architecture.”
The law forcing the sale of TikTok was passed over national security concerns. The White House said that China’s link to the app was a threat to the U.S. ByteDance has stated it would prefer shutting down TikTok in the U.S. instead of selling it to an American firm, if it can’t beat the U.S. law in court.
ByteDance is suing the United States government to block the law, alleging it infringes on First Amendment rights. Now, a group of TikTok users is suing the federal government. The users claim the new law violates their First Amendment rights by stifling a communication method and inhibiting content creation and viewing experiences.
