Frank McCourt, the former owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers from 2004 to 2012, is making a bid to acquire the popular social media platform TikTok.
It comes as a result of recent legislation passed by the United States government that attempts to force the current owners, ByteDance, to sell the app or otherwise have the app banned in the country.
The bill was passed by the Senate last month and signed into law by President Joe Biden with a deadline to sell the app with 270 days, which could be extend to a year by the president.
The U.S. government says their issues with the app stems from its ownership by a Chinese company, which has prompted concerns that their government could access the sensitive user data of U.S. citizens. TikTok has also been used by many younger citizens to engage in political discourse, which has also caused concern for some politicians that do not agree with the prevalent views on the app and of younger generations.
If a sale does come to fruition, the new owners also have to be approved by the U.S. or else the ban still applies.
This is where McCourt and Project Liberty come into play. Project Liberty, which was founded by McCourt, announced that they are attempting to put together a bid to purchase TikTok from ByteDance.
“The foundation of our digital infrastructure is broken, and it’s time to fix it,” McCourt said in a press release. “We can, and must, do more to safeguard the health and well-being of our children, families, democracy and society. We see this potential acquisition as an incredible opportunity to catalyze an alternative to the current tech model that has colonized the internet.
“By bringing leading academics, technologists, behavioral scientists, psychologists and economic experts together with community partners, parents and citizens, we believe we can preserve – and enhance – the TikTok experience by giving individuals and creators on the platform the value and control they deserve regarding who has access to their data and how it is used.
“This country has long been the global driver of ground-breaking innovation, and I encourage anyone who’s interested in reclaiming your data from Big Tech to engage with us and take a step forward to redefine the future of the internet for the people.”
McCourt and Project Liberty are working in consultation with Guggenheim Securities, which is a part of the larger Guggenheim Partners umbrella. Mark Walter is the CEO of Guggenheim Partners and is also the chairman of Dodgers with ownership of the majority of its shares.
McCourt founded Project Liberty with a $500-million commitment and it was launched privately in 2019, with its goal being to change how people and the internet interact with each other.
Dodgers Frank McCourt era
McCourt bought the Dodgers for $430 million from News Corporation, and in the deal he acquired significant real estate assets related to the stadium in Chavez Ravine, including stadium parking lot land.
In 2012, McCourt sold the team to a group that was headlined by the Guggenheim Partners and former Los Angeles Lakers star Magic Johnson for a record price of $2 billion, the highest ever for a professional sports team at the time.
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