TikTok’s Future in the US Is Unclear. We Check Back in With the Billionaire Who Wants to Save It

Douyin is officially launched chopping boardfriends.

On Friday, a federal appeals court upheld a law that could result in the app being banned from operating in the United States next month. Even if President Biden decides to extend this deadline for another 90 days, TikTok will still need to find a way out of the predicament in a fairly tight time frame.

Earlier this year I spoke with Frank McCourt For this newsletter About his bid to acquire TikTok. After last week’s events, I decided it was time to reconnect with him. Plus, I learned how creators are preparing for a post-TikTok future.

Let’s talk.

At this point, TikTok has three options left. The company may win the appeal, forget all about this, and get back to business as usual (eventually). Next year, the app could be banned. Or, people with a lot of money can Acquisition of TikTok’s U.S. business Leaving byte bounce. On Wednesday afternoon, my colleague Zeyi Yang I interviewed billionaire Frank McCourt, the former owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers, and he wanted to do the same.

McCourt’s motivation is not only to save TikTok, but also to support his personal projects. Through his “Freedom Project” initiative, he proposed a so-called “People’s Bid” that brought together various investors and groups to share his vision for a more open web. To achieve this goal, he applied the Freedom Project’s Decentralized Social Network Protocol (DSNP) to TikTok. The agreement will allow users to export their friends and followers to the new TikTok. After Friday’s court ruling, McCourt is more confident than ever that his team will soon be running and possibly rebuilding the app.

During our conversation, McCourt argued that a sale would make everyone happy, including ByteDance, users, and the U.S. government. McCourt has had conversations with potential investors totaling at least a $20 billion potential bid for the app’s brand, its user base, and the existing content in order to scale his vision of an interoperable, more privacy-friendly internet that competes with companies like Meta and Google. He said he “doesn’t need or want” the algorithm that runs TikTok’s For You page.

Asked whether the Free Project could maintain TikTok’s existing user base without its beloved algorithm, McCourt said, “People don’t know what they don’t have until you show it to them.”