As the deadline for a potential TikTok ban in the US draws closer, a high-stakes battle is unfolding over the future of the social media giant’s American operations. While Tesla CEO Elon Musk has been speculated as a potential buyer, another billionaire has officially stepped into the ring—Frank McCourt, former owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers.
McCourt isn’t just another bidder. Through his nonprofit initiative, Project Liberty, he has put forward a proposal that promises not just to acquire TikTok’s US assets but to fundamentally reshape how the internet works. His vision? A platform where users, not corporations, have control over their own data.
McCourt’s project liberty: A bold bid for TikTok’s future
McCourt’s nonprofit advocacy group, Project Liberty, has officially submitted a bid to acquire TikTok’s US operations, proposing a model that would give users more control over their personal data. “We started a project five years ago by the name of Project Liberty to redesign and reimagine how the internet works,” McCourt explained. “Rather than have individuals surveilled and their data scraped, why not have an internet where individuals own and control their data?”
Project Liberty submitted its bid in early January, backed by $20 billion in verbal commitments from investors eager to support the acquisition. The plan aims to transition TikTok’s US user base onto American-built digital infrastructure, ensuring compliance with US laws and regulations while removing Chinese government influence.
However, McCourt’s offer does not include TikTok’s algorithm, which is regarded as a critical piece of intellectual property by China. This exclusion could complicate the deal, as ByteDance has resisted selling TikTok without its key recommendation engine.
Elon Musk’s potential role: ‘Pure Fiction,’ says TikTok
While McCourt’s bid is gaining traction, reports of Elon Musk entering the TikTok takeover battle have been dismissed as false by the company. Bloomberg recently reported that Chinese officials might consider selling TikTok’s US operations to Musk’s social media platform, X (formerly Twitter), if the Supreme Court upholds the US law banning TikTok. The report suggested that this move could prevent TikTok’s US business from being shut down.
However, TikTok has firmly denied these rumors. A spokesperson told the BBC, “We can’t be expected to comment on pure fiction.”
Meanwhile, TikTok has sued to block the US ban, but the Supreme Court upheld it in a ruling last week, increasing the urgency for ByteDance to either sell or shut down its US operations by January 19.
What’s next? The high-stakes race for TikTok’s US future
The fight over TikTok’s future in the US has drawn interest from finance, tech, and entertainment heavyweights. Many figures with ties to Donald Trump’s political circle have been linked to potential TikTok deals, adding a political layer to the unfolding drama.
McCourt remains optimistic about his bid, stating that his proposal meets the national security requirements laid out by Congress and upheld by the Supreme Court’s 9-0 decision. But the final decision lies with ByteDance and the Chinese government, which holds a golden share in TikTok and retains influence over any potential sale.
“We’re all lined up to buy. We have the tech, we have the capital, and we’re ready to go,” McCourt said. “But we have to wait and see what ByteDance actually does. And ByteDance, in turn, has a golden shareholder, the Chinese Communist Party. I think everybody is waiting to see what China and ByteDance are going to do as the clock ticks.”
With less than a year until the US elections, the fate of TikTok remains a geopolitical flashpoint. Will McCourt’s vision of a decentralized, user-controlled TikTok succeed? Will ByteDance sell to a US buyer? Or will TikTok face an outright ban?
The race for TikTok’s US survival is on.
