Billionaire Frank McCourt's TikTok bid wins key backer as he looks past app's prized algorithm

🌈 Abstract

The article discusses billionaire Frank McCourt's bid to acquire TikTok and create a new social media platform that gives users more control over their data. Key points:

• McCourt is part of a group interested in buying TikTok to create a new platform where users can control their data.
• His bid has garnered interest from various investors, including parents whose children died due to interactions on social media.
• TikTok's parent company ByteDance has repeatedly said it will not sell the app and has sued to block the law requiring it to divest.
• McCourt believes that if the courts rule against ByteDance, the company will be forced to sell, and his group is a "nonthreatening buyer" as they are primarily interested in the TikTok community rather than the app's algorithm.

🙋 Q&A

[01] Billionaire Frank McCourt's TikTok bid

1. What is the goal of McCourt's bid to acquire TikTok?

• McCourt's goal is to create a new platform where users can control their own data, rather than owning TikTok or being the CEO of a social media platform.

2. Who are the key backers of McCourt's bid?

• McCourt's bid has drawn interest from private investors, pension funds, philanthropies, and parents whose children died as a result of interactions on social media.

3. What is McCourt's view on the potential sale of TikTok by ByteDance?

• McCourt believes that if the courts rule against ByteDance, the company will be forced to sell TikTok. He considers his group a "nonthreatening buyer" as they are primarily interested in the TikTok community rather than the app's algorithm.

[02] Rival bids for TikTok

1. Who is leading another group looking to buy TikTok?

• Former Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin is leading another group looking to buy TikTok.

2. What is McCourt's view on Mnuchin's bid?

• McCourt notes that Mnuchin's private equity firm has ties to funding from Saudi Arabia, and he questions whether replacing Chinese money with Saudi money would solve the issue, as it would still be the "same exploitive model, scraping everybody's data, aggregating it and making money and harming kids."

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