Ohanian & McCourt Bid for TikTok U.S. Operations

Islamabad: Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian has teamed up with billionaire Frank McCourt in an ambitious bid to acquire TikTok’s U.S. operations. The initiative, named Project Liberty, aims to introduce blockchain technology to the platform in an effort to reshape it with a decentralized infrastructure.

Ohanian, acting as a strategic adviser for the project, announced the move on X (formerly Twitter), saying, “I’m officially now one of the people trying to buy TikTok US — and bring it on-chain.” If successful, the project aims to bring about major changes, including enhancing privacy, security, and digital independence on the platform by integrating blockchain technology. Ohanian even joked that, if they succeed, the platform could be renamed “TikTok: Freedom Edition.”

This bid comes in the wake of a federal bill passed last year, which mandates that TikTok sever its ties with its China-based parent company, ByteDance, by January 19, 2025, or face a nationwide ban in the U.S. The law has added urgency to the situation, leading to increased interest in the platform from various tech giants and investors.

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Project Liberty’s vision is focused on giving users more control over their data and ensuring transparency through blockchain, which could redefine TikTok’s future. However, the bid faces stiff competition, as other major players are also eyeing the platform amid the approaching deadline for ByteDance’s divestment.