American billionaire wants to buy TikTok - but not its ‘highly addictive algorithm’
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Elon Musk was recently linked with buying the US arm of ByteDance’s flagship app but those reports were quickly dismissed. TikTok remains one of the fastest growing and active platforms in the digital age, with over a billion monthly active users on the app. Depending on who you ask, that number could be significantly higher.
The social media app, owned by Chinese company ByteDance, is also one of the most divisive platforms around right now and, in the USA, it is set to be banned within a week - unless a law is overturned or the app is sold. There are 170 million users in the States, the country with the second-highest useage of the app behind only Indonesia - but eventually they won’t be able to any longer unless a change takes place. And it’s not totally out of the question that a sale does happen; despite dismissive responses this week to reports Elon Musk would be invited to buy the US arm of TikTok, one American billionaire clearly is in the running to do just that.
Frank McCourt, who launched the Project Liberty initiative, wants to buy TikTok...but not as you know it. The idea behind Project Liberty is to develop a “better internet” by allowing people to “take back control of their digital lives”. In short, they want online time to be healthier and lead to development of people, not just a drain on their data and finances. So McCourt wants TikTok - but not the algorithm which comes with it, which he has labelled “highly addictive”.
