Project Liberty has made a last-ditch bid to acquire TikTok just 10 days before the app's looming ban in the United States.
The proposal aims to preserve the platform's vibrant community while giving 170 million Americans protection and control of their data through working with Guggenheim Security, the investment banking and capital markets business of Guggenheim Partners and Kirkland and Ellis, one of the world’s largest law firms.
“By bringing leading academics, technologists, behavioural scientists, psychologists and economic experts together with community partners, parents and citizens, we believe we can preserve – and enhance – the TikTok experience by giving individuals and creators on the platform the value and control they deserve regarding who has access to their data and how it is used,” Project Liberty founder and executive chairman of McCourt Global, Frank McCourt said.
The new infrastructure for TikTok would be optimised to minimise interruption for TikTokers and prioritise privacy and trust on the platform.
Project Liberty and its consortium believe they are in a unique position to financially complete the transaction and support creators.
The proposal is the result of work by The People's Bid for TikTok, an effort to bring together a broad coalition of technologists, investors, community leaders, business owners, creators, parents, and everyday citizens to reimagine TikTok and give Americans a voice, choice, and stake in the platform's future.
Tomicah Tillemann, president of Project Liberty, said they would not reveal financial specifics until ByteDance, TikTok’s current owners, have reviewed their proposal.
This comes after the Supreme Court passed a law that would block TikTok in the U.S. if ByteDance didn’t sell the app by 19 January.
Since then, ByteDance has attempted to seek legal action to block the ruling, even gaining the support of president-elect Donald Trump, who will begin his presidency on 20 January.
"While we respect ByteDance's position to explore all legal options to retain its business in the United States, we believe that we are offering an alternative path that compensates its owners fairly and allows creators and small businesses to continue thriving,” Tillman said.