Billionaire McCourt Forming Consortium to Buy TikTok
Billionaire Frank McCourt said Wednesday he's forming a consortium to purchase social media platform TikTok's US business in response to a new US law requiring the app's China-based parent company, ByteDance, to divest or face a ban....
Facts
- Billionaire Frank McCourt said Wednesday he's forming a consortium to purchase social media platform TikTok's US business in response to a new US law requiring the app's China-based parent company, ByteDance, to divest or face a ban.1
- The former owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers of Major League Baseball and current owner of the French soccer club Marseille said if he purchases the platform he intends to migrate it to an open-source protocol that would be more transparent.1
- McCourt, who made most of his fortune in real estate, has been vocal in the past about his desire to change the internet, and he said a deal to purchase TikTok could help users 'control their identity, [and] own and control their data.'2
- ByteDance has said it doesn't intend to sell the platform and last week it sued the US government to block the new law from taking effect. Some analysts suggest that the PRC is unlikely to approve a sale, especially one that includes the crucial recommendation algorithm.3
- McCourt said he doesn't want the algorithm because his group is 'talking about a different architecture' for the app and the operation of the internet in general.4
Sources: 1Associated Press, 2New York Times, 3Euronews and 4Business Insider.
Narratives
- Narrative A, as provided by Semafor. Some may think McCourt's quest to purchase TikTok is an idealistic longshot, but if successful it could go a long way toward revealing how social media companies operate and could change the internet entirely. Nothing is possible without TikTok actually being for sale, but if McCourt and his investors can do the things they want to do while running a viable business, they could realize McCourt's goals.
- Narrative B, as provided by CNN. McCourt has put forth this plan without stating how much he's willing to pay for TikTok or how he intends to get ByteDance to sell the platform. In addition to ByteDance's lawsuit against the US government, several US users are suing over claims the new law violates their First Amendment rights. McCourt has a compelling pitch, but it's unlikely he'll ever get a chance to buy the platform — let alone enact the changes he wants to make.
