On Wednesday, billionaire businessman and real estate mogul Frank McCourt stated his intention to assemble a consortium to purchase TikTok’s U.S. market. The announcement adds to numerous investors looking to generate a positive effect from a new federal law banning the platform if TikTok’s China-based parent company, ByteDance, does not sell.
According to an announcement presented on McCourt’s Project Liberty website, the billionaire and former Los Angeles Dodgers owner is consulting with investment bank Guggenheim Securities to organize the bid “with the goal of placing people and data empowerment at the center of the platform’s design and purpose.”
McCourt stated that if there is a sale, he would restructure the platform in a way that grants people more agency “over their digital identities and data.” He said this would be accomplished by transferring TikTok to an open-source protocol that allows for additional transparency.
Personally, while McCourt says he does not use TikTok, he stated that his businesses and internet-focused initiative utilize the platform regularly. McCourt’s bid is another piece of his well-known desire to “makeover” the internet with improved data privacy protections in place—an effort upon which the Project Liberty initiative is focused. According to the website, the project was founded “to build a new digital civic architecture for a safer, healthier Internet.”
At this time, McCourt’s reimagining of TikTok has attracted the support of well-known social psychologist Jonathan Haidt. Haidt’s latest book titled, “The Anxious Generation” is based on how social media, and smartphones in general, have significantly contributed to a serious mental health crisis among young people.
In an interview with The Associated Press, McCourt stated, “We thought this was a really fantastic opportunity to accelerate the creation of an alternative Internet.”
Other investors have expressed a desire to purchase TikTok, such as former Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin. Still, ByteDance previously stated that it does not have any intention to sell. Reinforcing that statement, a variety of experts have said the Chinese government is unlikely to approve any purchase, particularly if the deal includes the recommendation engine that powers videos and populates feeds.
On the other hand, McCourt believes ByteDance will eventually sell TikTok’s U.S. business, and has expressed disinterest in its current algorithm. The prominent businessman says the platform utilizes a “top-down” recommendation engine and that this conflicts with his ultimate view on how it should operate.
In the meantime, TikTok has been fighting back against the law, which was passed in April and, if put into effect, would disrupt one of the platform’s most profitable regions.
Together, TikTok and ByteDance filed a lawsuit against the U.S. government last week in an attempt to block the law from going into effect. Eight different TikTok creators filed their own challenge on Tuesday, making an argument that the law violates their First Amendment rights.
Furthermore, the company is also in the throes of a battle in Montana, attempting to halt a law banning the platform statewide. Montana users reached an agreement with the state to put a stay on the lawsuit on Tuesday.
If a company that is not based in a foreign adversary acquires TikTok, Montana’s law, which has been temporarily blocked, would be nullified.
McCourt sold the Dodgers for $2 billion in 2012 to Guggenheim Baseball Management before purchasing the French soccer club Marseille in 2016. According to Forbes, he has a worth of $1.4 billion.
