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Just 10 days before the US ban on TikTok takes effect, nonprofit Internet entrepreneur Frank McCourt Freedom project announced Thursday that it has submitted a proposal to buy the social media site from Chinese technology company ByteDance.
Project Liberty and its partners, dubbed “The People's Bid for TikTok,” would restructure the app to exist on an American-owned platform and prioritize users' digital safety, it said. the project in a report.
“We've pitched ByteDance to realize Project Liberty's vision for a reinvented TikTok — one built on an American-made tech stack that puts people first,” said Project Liberty founder McCourt. , in a statement. “By keeping the platform alive without relying on the current TikTok algorithm and avoiding bans, millions of Americans can continue to enjoy the platform. “
A spokesperson from Project Liberty said the non-profit was not disclosing the financial terms of the offer but confirmed that ByteDance received the proposal.
CNBC has reached out to TikTok for comment.
The Supreme Court will to hear oral arguments on the ban, which was signed into law by President Joe Biden last April, on Friday. ByteDance has repeatedly refused to sell TikTok and appealed the legislation on First Amendment grounds.
The case has worked its way through the legal system. Most recently, the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled in favor of the law on December 6, writing that the government's national security justification for the ban was strong enough.
In December 9 court registrationTikTok said the ban would cost US small businesses and social media creators $1.3 billion in revenue and earnings in just one month, and that more than 7 million US users will business on TikTok.
The ban, known as the Protection of Americans from Applications Controlled by a Foreign Enemy Act, prohibits the distribution and maintenance of the application while it is under Chinese ownership.
The People's Petition for TikTok aims to move TikTok to an open source platform that gives users more control over their data, as part of Project Liberty's mission to create a more user-powered internet. build practice.
The initiative will partner with the investment banking group Guggenheim Securities and the law firm Kirkland & Ellis. Among his supporters are digital safety advocates, investor Kevin O'Leary and world wide web engineer Tim Berners-Lee.
