Frank McCourt, citizen entrepreneur, executive chairman of McCourt Global and founder of Project Liberty, speaks at The Wall Street Journal Future of Everything Festival in New York, May 22, 2024.
Andrew Kelly | Reuters
Frank McCourt said his Project Liberty consortium, which made an offer to buy TikTokhe would feel comfortable sharing ownership of the app, as long as it is operated using technology developed by his nonprofit.
“I don't mind what's legal… and the U.S. government doesn't mind,” McCourt told CNBC at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
McCourt's remarks come after President Donald Trump he said last week that he would like the U.S. to have “50% of the joint venture” in TikTok.
Last week the Supreme Court upheld the law requiring ByteDance to divest ownership of TikTok or Face effective ban. Because TikTok was not sold by Sunday's legal deadline, the app was disabled for US users and also removed from the Apple and Google app stores. But TikTok began restoring some services on Sunday after Trump said he would sign an executive order delaying the federal ban on the app, which he did on Monday.
The executive order allows TikTok to operate for another 75 days.
Given all the twists and turns, McCourt said he's open to any commercial deal, including buying a 50% stake rather than full ownership.
“I won't make decisions there. You know, this is President Trump's deal, now it's in his… administration and, you know, everything will be sorted out,” McCourt said.
“We're not flexible on the values and principles of Project Liberty, are we?” he added. “We are completely flexible when it comes to commercial arrangements as long as they are legal.”
McCourt's stipulation is that TikTok must run on a technology called decentralized social networking protocol (DSNP), which is overseen by Project Liberty Institute, a nonprofit founded by the billionaire.
Focus on user data
McCourt criticized the way social media and internet companies collect user data and target them with ads. He said the current model, in which the user has little control over their own data, needs to change.
DSNP is focused on making these changes. The protocol is a technology on which third-party developers can build applications, but users can choose how their data is used and who has access to it.
If they don't like a particular app, they can move their content and data to another service built on top of DSNP.
McCourt's goal is to buy TikTok and list it on DSNP.
“The user experience would be very similar, with one big exception – having identity, data and relationships would be different from how Tiktok currently works,” McCourt said.
“So if Project Liberty or anyone else… buys US Tiktok and does a poor job, the underlying technology will enable the entire user base to move to another app that does better,” he added.
Project Liberty has made an offer to buy TikTok without its core algorithm.
Project Liberty “is not interested in the algorithm or Chinese technology,” McCourt said, although he acknowledged that TikTok is “worth less” without the algorithm. Many experts say that TikTok's success is largely due to its algorithm, which keeps users addicted to the app.
Other shoppers mill around
It is unclear whether ByteDance will sell TikTok, or whether China will agree to any U.S. sales of the app
Project Liberty is organizing a bid for TikTok together with a consortium of other investors. It's called the People's Bid For TikTok, but there are other potential buyers floating around.
Trump said Tuesday he would consider that possibility Tesla CEO Elon Musk Or Oracle Chairman Larry Ellison purchasing TikTok. Comments come later report that the Chinese government was considering a plan involving Musk taking over the business.
YouTube star MrBeast, whose real name is Jimmy Donaldson, and a group of investors are also preparing to make an offer for TikTok, his lawyer confirmed to various media outlets this week.
— CNBC's Jonathan Vanian, Hakyung Kim and Lora Kolodny contributed to this report.
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