Shark Tank’s Kevin O’Leary Plans To Buy TikTok
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New Investor Expresses Interest in Purchasing TikTok Amid U.S. Ban Deadline
As the deadline for a potential TikTok ban in the U.S. rapidly approaches, another prominent investor is stepping forward with a plan to acquire the popular social media platform.
Kevin O’Leary, best known for his role as “Mr. Wonderful” on Shark Tank, has joined forces with billionaire Frank McCourt in an effort to purchase TikTok.
This announcement comes just days before the U.S. government’s deadline for ByteDance, TikTok’s Chinese parent company, to sell the app or face a ban in the country.
Source: Roy Rochlin / Getty
In December, McCourt, the founder of Project Liberty and executive chairman of McCourt Global, revealed he was leading an initiative to buy TikTok through a group of investors.
The effort, which McCourt calls the “People’s Bid for TikTok,” aims to give users more control over their data while safeguarding their privacy.
According to McCourt, the project has already secured verbal commitments from investors amounting to $20 billion, though no formal agreement has been made yet.
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This move comes in the wake of U.S. President Joe Biden’s 2023 legislation that mandates TikTok’s Chinese parent company, ByteDance, to sell the platform by January 19, 2024.
If ByteDance fails to comply, the app will be banned in the U.S. — no longer available for download and inaccessible via web browsers.
The legislation has sparked heated debates over national security, as government officials fear that American users’ data could be shared with the Chinese government.
TikTok, on the other hand, argues that the ban is an infringement on First Amendment rights and free speech.
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O’Leary, who is joining McCourt’s bid, believes that their plan to purchase TikTok is about much more than just securing the app’s U.S. assets.
In an interview with Fox News on Monday, he emphasized the importance of protecting the privacy of TikTok’s 170 million American users and empowering creators and small businesses.
“It’s about building a platform that prioritizes people over algorithms,” O’Leary said in a statement on X (formerly Twitter).
With the U.S. Supreme Court set to review the legislation on Friday, O’Leary and McCourt are hoping to work with President-elect Donald Trump, who has expressed interest in pausing the ban. Trump, who will be inaugurated on January 20, just one day after the proposed ban takes effect, has urged the Court to delay its ruling, allowing him the opportunity to resolve the issue.
Neither McCourt’s Project Liberty team nor O’Leary’s representatives responded to USA TODAY’s request for comment at the time of publication.
