US businessman Frank McCourt, former owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers baseball team, has announced his intention to buy the TikTok platform. McCourt, who is also known for owning Olympique de Marseille, sees the acquisition as a key step towards regaining control of the internet. The tycoon argues that large platforms are endangering society, especially children.
During the Collision technology conference in Toronto, McCourt expressed concern about the negative impact of these platforms on the mental health of young people. He cited an increase in anxiety, depression and suicides among minors as one of his main motivations for taking action. He said it was his own fear for the safety of his seven children that prompted him to seek solutions.
The entrepreneur seeks to promote a ‘new internet’ through his initiative, known as Project Liberty. This project proposes a decentralised network where users have control over their own data, removing the dominance of platforms like Instagram, YouTube and X. McCourt argued that the algorithms of these platforms are responsible for increasing social polarisation and political chaos, citing examples such as the situation in France, where the far right could win the next election.
McCourt believes that acquiring TikTok would be a significant step forward in his struggle to reform the internet. TikTok, with its vast user base, especially among young people, would provide the Freedom Project with a powerful platform to expand its vision. According to Folha de Sao Paulo, McCourt explained that buying TikTok would allow him to change the course of social networks and give control back to users, preventing their data from being manipulated.
McCourt's project has the support of key figures such as Tim Berners-Lee, creator of the World Wide Web, and Jonathan Haidt, a professor at New York University. Haidt, in his book The Anxious Generation, highlights the devastating effects of social networking on young people, aligning himself with the tycoon's concerns.
However, McCourt is not the only one interested in buying TikTok. Former US Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin has also shown interest in acquiring the platform. This comes as TikTok faces a possible ban in the US for national security reasons, unless it finds a non-Chinese buyer. Joe Biden's administration has given TikTok 270 days to resolve the situation.
Despite the uncertainties about whether TikTok will eventually be sold, McCourt remains firm in his belief that this process could open the public's eyes to the handling of their data. He warned that not only is data sent to China, but it also ends up in the hands of other actors who exercise unwanted control over personal information.
