Billionaire businessman and real estate tycoon Frank McCourt has announced that he is putting together a consortium to buy the U.S. operations of the popular social media platform TikTok. This announcement comes in the wake of a new federal law requiring TikTok's China-based parent company, ByteDance, to sell the app within a year or face a ban in the United States.
McCourt, a vocal critic of tech and social media, is known for his ambitions to improve the web. His Project Liberty initiative aims to place "people and data empowerment at the center of the platform's design and purpose," as stated in the announcement. The consortium, which includes Guggenheim Securities and a number of academics and technologists, is being formed with the goal of giving more agency to users over their digital identities and data.
The potential acquisition is being described as "the people's bid," with McCourt and his partners aiming to "return control and value back into the hands of individuals" and provide Americans with a meaningful voice, choice, and stake in the future of the web.
TikTok, with its 170 million users in the U.S., has become an integral part of American culture, particularly among teenagers and young adults. However, concerns have been raised about the platform's data privacy practices and its ties to the Chinese government. McCourt has criticized the current tech model, which he believes has "colonized the internet," and sees the potential acquisition of
TikTok as an opportunity to catalyze an alternative.
The move has sparked a flurry of interest and speculation, with some experts questioning the likelihood of the Chinese government approving a sale that includes the recommendation engine powering TikTok's video feeds. The company is also currently embroiled in legal battles to block a state law in Montana that would ban the video-sharing platform.
As the saga unfolds, the future of TikTok in the U.S. hangs in the balance, with the potential for a significant shift in the social media landscape.
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