Project Liberty has confirmed a last-ditch bid for TikTok before the video-sharing app is banned for millions of users in the United States.
Ex-Dodgers owner Frank McCourt’s Project Liberty has headed efforts to buy TikTok from Chinese-based ByteDance, alongside a consortium of investors called The People's Bid.
“We've put forward a proposal to ByteDance to realize Project Liberty's vision for a reimagined TikTok,” McCourt confirmed on Thursday.
“By keeping the platform alive without relying on the current TikTok algorithm and avoiding a ban, millions of Americans can continue to enjoy the platform.”
TikTok, which has around 170 million US users, faces a looming nationwide ban on January 19, a day before Donald Trump’s inauguration, if ByteDance fails to sell the app.
The Supreme Court has agreed to hear a case by TikTok against the law forcing its ban, which had been brought in last year over national security concerns.
Financial details of Project Liberty’s bid were not disclosed, though it did say TikTok’s user base would be migrated to “groundbreaking, American-built digital infrastructure”.
“This is the bid that can save TikTok,” Kevin O’Leary, of business reality show Shark Tank and who said earlier this week that he had joined the bid, added.
“Project Liberty has brought together the right people, the right vision and the right technology to avoid a ban. It is a win for all Americans.”