The Future of TikTok in the US is Unclear. We also check in with the Billionaire Who Wants to Save

TikTok is officially on the chopping block, friends.

Last Friday, an appeals court upheld a ruling that could result in the app being banned from operating in the United States next month. Even if President Joe Biden decides to extend that deadline for an additional 90 days, TikTok is still on a tight schedule to find a way out of this mess.

Earlier this year, I spoke to Frank McCourt for this newsletter about his bid to buy TikTok. After the events of last week, I thought it was a good time to pay him another visit. Plus, I got an insight into how creators are preparing for a post-TikTok future.

Let’s talk about it.

There are three options left for TikTok at this point. The company can win the appeal, forget all about this, and go back to business as usual (eventually). Come next year, the app can be banned. Or, someone with a lot of money could buy TikTok’s US business through ByteDance. On Wednesday afternoon, my colleague Zeyi Yang and I spoke with Frank McCourt, the billionaire former owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers who wants to do just that.

McCourt’s motivation is not just to save TikTok but to strengthen his personal project. With his Project Liberty, he has made what he calls a “people’s bid,” bringing together various investors and groups who share his vision for a more open web. To accomplish this, he will use Project Liberty’s Decentralized Social Networking Protocol, or DSNP, on TikTok. The protocol will allow users to send more of their friends and followers to the new TikTok. And after Friday’s court ruling, McCourt is more confident than ever that his team will soon be working and possibly rebuilding the operating system.

In our interview, McCourt asserted that the sale would make everyone happy, including ByteDance, users, and the US government. McCourt committed $20 billion to the app’s product, its user base, and existing content to grow his vision for an interactive, more private Internet that competes with companies like Meta and Google. He “doesn’t need or want” the algorithm that runs TikTok’s For You page, he says.

When asked if Project Liberty could maintain TikTok’s existing user base without a fancy algorithm, McCourt said, “People don’t know what they’re getting into until you show them.”