It is evident that billionaire Franck McCourt has many things in his favor. The American real estate businessman is the owner of the Los Angeles Marathon and the Marseille Olympic Games, acquired in 2016. But he also wants to change the Internet and the uses to which it is put. He has been advocating for several years for an overhaul of social media and the repair of an “irreparably broken” model, which he says fuels the click race and misinformation.
On Wednesday, May 15, he announced through Project Liberty, the initiative he launched for a more open and more decentralized Internet, the creation of a consortium to buy Tiktok in the United States. “The foundations of our digital infrastructure are broken and it is time to repair them. We must do more to preserve the health and well-being of our children, our families, democracy and society,” Franck McCourt announces in the site’s press release.
The offer would be related to the platform’s activities in the United States, which the Chinese group Bytedance is forced to sell to comply with the law enacted by Joe Biden. In case of non-transfer, the network would be prohibited in American territory.
Give users control over their digital identities and data
At the center of Franck McCourt’s concerns: allowing users to exercise greater control over their identity and digital data. All while migrating to a new open source protocol. The entire design of the platform and its operation would be reviewed.
The consortium includes, according to the press release, numerous natural and legal persons. It is based on a partnership with Guggenheim Securities, investment banking and capital markets firm Guggenheim Partners, and one of the largest law firms, Kirkland & Ellis. It also involves technical experts, academics, communities and committed parents and activists.
What would be the amount of said acquisition if necessary? Questioned by Le Figaro, the director of Project Liberty, Tomicah Tilleman, speaks of a “consequential financial transaction”, specifying: “it is too early to mention a price, because we still do not know the exact scope of such a sale.”
Bytedance does not want to sell
Problem: Bytedance, which valued the adoption of the US law very little, decided to sue the text. “We will continue fighting,” announced Michael Beckermann, public policy director for Tiktok in the United States. For the group, there are currently no plans to sell its activities.
Other potential buyers have also expressed interest, including the former head of video game publisher Activision Blizzard, Bobby Kotick. In short, for Project Liberty and its media promoter, the issue is far from being resolved.
Source: BFM TV
