What billionaire Frank McCourt would really do with TikTok

People don’t know what they don’t have until you sell it to them, right? And I am very convinced that when people see that there is a version of TikTok 2.0, where they take care of their algorithm, they are in charge, and they own and analyze their data and get value for it, people will cry for it. . They will rush to that. It is a much better model.

We can debate this all day, but we’ll be the ones taking the risk. We are the ones putting up the money and saying this is going to work. ByteDance can close, or they can get the money for the platform and it takes luck.

Now, TikTok is associated with specific types of content, such as dancing, silly videos, and a younger audience. Did you hear that the new version of TikTok will keep that focus?

Well, I think the Gen Z user base is critical to keep engaged, because young people create culture. And TikTok is a culture creator if ever there was one. But I want to add that recent polls show that for 47 percent of Gen Zseven though they use it many hours a day, they wish it was never invented. Because of the highly addictive nature, and how they sometimes feel right after spending so much time. So we’re creating a healthier version, where it’s a super clean app, it’s easy to use, and it looks very similar to the way it looks now. But users are in charge.

Do you believe that giving teenagers full control without a manipulative algorithm will help them reduce their screen time?

I think once you put control in the hands of individuals, people will make choices for themselves. Some will make good choices, some will make bad choices. What is really important, however, is when it comes to very young people, parents need to have some ability to be a parent. Young people have to be guided. They need to be parents, and it is very difficult now for parents to compete (with the algorithm).

So we need to take a step back. TikTok is awesome. We want to keep it alive. Let’s build a better version of it. But you know what: healthy teenagers are awesome too. Being a good parent is great too. Individual human rights and protection are also fantastic. The protection of American citizens is also fantastic.

If TikTok’s Supreme Court appeal takes a while, do you still want to buy the app, even if it’s months or years from now?

Yes, we line up to do this every time it happens. What is just a great serendipity for me here is that this legislation has happened and TikTok can be taken. Because the movement of 170 million people in a new pile will very quickly catalyze this updated Internet alternative. Now, one of the big problems we have is that we discuss things on this Internet, but until there is another choice, people are kind of stuck.

I liken this to large-scale, physical human migration. There are people who live in very difficult places – in the case of my ancestors, there was a famine – they really want to go somewhere else. But there is a second necessary condition, and that is the need for a place to go. Now, people have become wise about the damage of the current Internet, and the fact that they have been exploited and are not rewarded well or fairly. But nothing will happen if there is no alternative and a place for them.