Billionaire Frank McCourt, founder of McCourt Global and the ambitious Project Liberty initiative, has publicly revealed his readiness to pursue a $20 billion bid to acquire TikTok’s U.S. operations—a move that has quickly garnered attention amid mounting national security concerns and increasing political pressure on the Chinese-owned social media giant. This proposed takeover comes at a critical juncture as U.S. lawmakers and regulators push for TikTok’s divestiture to an American entity, citing data privacy and surveillance risks associated with its parent company, ByteDance.
McCourt’s vision, branded as “The People’s Bid for TikTok,” is not merely a financial transaction but a broader effort to reshape the social media landscape. Central to his plan is the decentralization of TikTok’s platform infrastructure, leveraging the Decentralized Social Networking Protocol (DSNP) to empower users with greater control over their digital identities and data. This user-centric approach has attracted backing from prominent technologists, including Sir Tim Berners-Lee, the inventor of the World Wide Web, who advocates for a more open and interoperable internet. By transforming TikTok through this lens, McCourt aims to address systemic issues around privacy, algorithmic control, and content moderation that have plagued social media networks for years.
Despite this ambitious blueprint, McCourt faces significant legal and operational hurdles. ByteDance remains resistant to forced divestiture, particularly concerned about protecting its proprietary algorithms and intellectual property, which are excluded from McCourt’s offer. The Chinese government’s export controls on sensitive technologies further complicate the transfer, making a clean handover of the platform’s core technology unlikely. Meanwhile, the U.S. Supreme Court has set strict deadlines requiring TikTok’s sale to a U.S. owner or risk an outright ban in the country, heightening the urgency for a resolution. This regulatory pressure amplifies the stakes, with TikTok’s future hanging in the balance as the platform remains wildly popular among American users, especially younger demographics.
From a market perspective, TikTok’s valuation has become a subject of intense debate, ranging from $20 billion on the lower end to upwards of $100 billion, depending on growth forecasts and strategic synergies. McCourt’s bid sits at the lower valuation tier but reflects his calculated assessment of TikTok’s standalone value outside ByteDance’s broader ecosystem. Other suitors, including tech giants like Microsoft and emerging AI companies such as Perplexity AI, have reportedly expressed interest with bids reaching as high as $30 billion, signaling fierce competition for control over one of the most influential social media platforms globally.
McCourt’s approach marks a distinct departure from traditional acquisition strategies focused solely on financial returns or market share expansion. Instead, his proposal integrates a strong ethical and technological vision for the internet’s future, emphasizing transparency, decentralization, and user empowerment. Should his bid succeed, it could establish a new precedent for how social media platforms are governed, potentially inspiring reforms that balance innovation with privacy and democratic oversight.
However, the path ahead is fraught with challenges—not only must McCourt navigate the complex interplay of international politics and regulatory scrutiny, but he must also convince TikTok’s vast user base and industry stakeholders that his model can sustain the platform’s explosive growth while restoring public trust. The outcome of this bid will likely reverberate far beyond TikTok itself, influencing the future trajectory of digital media, user rights, and the role of tech billionaires in shaping the online world.
As the bidding war unfolds and legal battles intensify, all eyes remain on McCourt’s “People’s Bid” as a potential turning point in one of the most consequential technology deals of 2025.
NYC Journals 