Reddit Co-Founder Joins Bid to Decentralize TikTok
1min read Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian has joined billionaire Frank McCourt's bid to acquire TikTok as a strategic adviser, marking a significant development in the ongoing efforts to decentralize the popular social media platform. Ohanian, an investor and entrepreneur, has been vocal about his interest in leveraging blockchain technology to provide users with more control over their online data.
Project Liberty, an internet advocacy organization led by McCourt, announced Ohanian's involvement in the consortium, dubbed "The People's Bid for TikTok." Ohanian, who is married to tennis star Serena williams, expressed his excitement about the opportunity to bring TikTok "on-chain" through a series of posts on X, referencing a decentralized, blockchain-based platform that Project Liberty plans to integrate into the redesigned TikTok.
If successful in its bid, Project Liberty aims to use the technology as the backbone of the redesigned TikTok, ensuring that privacy, security, and digital independence are no longer optional but foundational. Ohanian has even suggested renaming the platform "TikTok: Freedom Edition" if the acquisition is successful.
The acquisition of TikTok's U.S. operations has been a contentious issue, with the U.S. government expressing concerns about the platform's ties to its China-based parent company, ByteDance. In 2020, a federal bill was passed requiring TikTok to cut ties with ByteDance or face a ban by January 19, 2021. However, former President Joe Biden extended the deadline to early April 2021.
McCourt's consortium, which includes shark Tank star Kevin O'Leary, has already offered ByteDance $20 billion in cash for the U.S. platform. While some analysts estimate TikTok could be worth much more, McCourt has stated that he is not interested in acquiring the platform's coveted algorithm. Other companies, such as microsoft, Perplexity AI, and Employer.com, have also expressed interest in acquiring TikTok's U.S. operations.
