An investor from “Shark Tank” and a former owner of the Dodgers are teaming up to try to save TikTok before a nationwide ban is set to go into effect this month.
Kevin O’Leary, one of the venture capitalist “sharks” from the reality television show, said Monday that he had joined a group known as the People’s Bid for TikTok that has been putting together a bid for TikTok’s U.S. business. The effort is being spearheaded by billionaire Frank McCourt, who sold the Dodgers in 2012.
If successful, the group said it would rebuild the platform in a way that prioritizes the privacy of TikTok’s roughly 170 million American users.
“Together with Frank, we aim to deliver an American-owned platform that safeguards national security,” O’Leary said in a statement. “I’m confident that our shared vision, paired with President-elect Trump’s business acumen, will lead to a deal that benefits everyone.”
O’Leary had previously expressed interest in working with other investors to purchase TikTok, launching a crowdfunding effort that will now be folded into the People’s Bid.
“Kevin has been a relentless advocate for new ownership of this platform as he understands the enormous opportunity a sale presents for investors, the millions of creators who rely on the platform for their livelihoods, and everyday Americans who love the platform,” McCourt said in a statement. “We’ve built a clean, American-made tech stack and continue to be the only viable bidder that can offer a seamless transition for everyone on TikTok without the existing algorithm.”
McCourt said the duo’s “combined efforts will give a significant boost” to the bid, but did not provide financial figures. A spokesperson for McCourt said he was not available for comment Tuesday.
TikTok’s future in the U.S. has been uncertain since 2020, when then-President Trump moved to shut down the short-form video app, which people use to share dance routines, news stories, recipes and funny videos.
Trump and others raised the prospect that ByteDance, which owns TikTok, could assist the Chinese government by sharing data it collects from its American users; embedding malicious software in the app; or helping to spread disinformation.
That set off years of back-and-forth between TikTok and the U.S. government. In April, President Biden signed a law that required ByteDance to sell its U.S. operations to a non-Chinese entity or be shut down.
The companies responded by suing the U.S. government in May, saying a ban would violate 1st Amendment rights. They also said that the new law “offers no support for the idea” that TikTok’s Chinese ownership poses national security risks.
“Speculative risk of harm is simply not enough when First Amendment values are at stake,” TikTok and ByteDance said in their filing.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit upheld the law last month, paving the way for a Supreme Court showdown. Oral arguments are scheduled for Friday.
