TikTok Ban Extension Likely the Last: McCourt

Bloomberg

18-06-2025

Live on Bloomberg TV
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00:00Frank. This is a never ending story, is it not? Well, it just does seem that it's it's taking a long time to get a deal made here. You know, you had the 270 days and then the the 275 day extensions and now another 90 days. So, yeah, it's it's been a while. But, you know, I've learned to be very patient, to hang around the group. A lot of good things get done when that happens. And, you know, my sense is and this is not a you know, this is purely purely my opinion, but I think this is the last extension. I think 90 days, not 75 days, is significant. And I think something gets done within the next 90 days or not. But does it involve you? Have you been on the phone with the vice president? Have you been involved in the negotiations? We are. You know, we were very much involved during the the first extension and less so during the second. Things have been relatively quiet, as a matter of fact. So I don't know if I should draw any inferences there, but it's been it's been fairly quiet overall. Look, I still love our chances, Caroline, because, look, the legislation is very, very clear on what it mandated. Our our bid, as far as I know, is the only bid that actually qualifies that actually meets the criteria in that legislation where we completely disentangle from the Chinese technology. So said Frank, I want to get really detailed on this because on the other side of the table in this bidding process, there is a coalition of different individuals and technology companies whose proposal, as I understand it, is outside what's legislated for. In other words, some element of co-location of data and licensing. The algorithm, which you just explain how your bid is distinct from that. Yeah, well, and I think you've hit the nail on the head in what we are, We're not looking to help co-host the data or to use the Chinese algorithm where we are. You know, Project Liberty is about empowering individuals, not exploiting them. So we're not interested in scraping people's data, surveilling, surveilling them. Right. Spying on them, scraping their data, aggregating it, and then micro profiling people and then using a black box algorithm to manipulate them. That's not what we're interested in. And that's why tech talk is so attractive to us, because we can not only solve the national security issue, but we can move the user base and the data onto this new clean made in America stack, which doesn't rely on Chinese technology, doesn't surveil on people, and as a matter of fact, empowers people to permission the use of their data and get paid for it. This is going to be the new Internet. It's going to happen sooner or later. How many more days can go by where we're going to read about another horror story that is occurring with the current Internet technology, which is highly exploitive and highly predatory. The current model is not sustainable, in my opinion. It's going to change. We believe the sooner it changes, the better. Frank As the extensions keep coming and the process continues, does the price for tick tock go up or down or stay the same? Well, from our perspective, it stays the same because what we what we were buying. Assuming the user base stays the same and there's no change in the numbers as far as the value to others, I can't I really can't comment on that and I'd only be speculating. But, you know, our our our view is we can put a really clear value on tick tock, a us tick tock with the current user base, with the data, with the brand, without the algorithm. Frank, we asked you and we thank you for being so transparent about your conversations with the administration. What about with China? What about with Bytedance? Because we understand much of the elongation of the process is they don't want to let go of the algorithm and they want to keep it intact. Caroline I think that's a really important question you're asking. I don't think any of us know what China's ultimately going to do here, and I think it's a big if in this whole transaction. It's I think one thing we do know is they're not going to let us go with the algorithm or with the IP. So any chance of a deal, in my opinion, would be a deal that disentangled from their technology and, and, you know, deal with disentangled from their technology. I mean, why not make the deal then? Because the the if there's not going to be a deal and the only option you shut down, why not sell the pieces in parts for a lot of money and and achieve their objective, which is no sharing of their technology. So I think that we just don't know if they're even going to let us chip to go without the algorithm. We're betting they will. And that's been our bet from day one. But we'll see. And what about the mood music of the userbase? When this all first came to light under the Biden administration, there was fierce opposition from many of those users. But actually the US public at large actually wanted to get rid of TikTok. But now it feels as though we've moved the other way. Where is general public consensus on whether we want to kick out TikTok or not? You know, I think it shifts and moves. I think right now what's happened is that because, you know, this is the third extension, people are a bit anesthetized and you're not sure what's going to happen. And so are are kind of not as it's it's not as front and center on the minds of the user base as it was when it was threatened to be shut down with with the legislation. By the way, I believe us Tik Tok is going to be sold. The shutdown, the legislation is is very clear and something's going to give here. And I you know, again, I said earlier and I have no, I please, I have no no proof of this, but I, I just have a gut feel. This is the last extension. Something's going to happen during this 90 days. So, Frank. Sorry to interrupt you. So you've also you basically opened the door to a third path, which we we discussed less, which is that the president could indeed decide, you know what I don't want to go with. I've a better and I will shut down us tick tock or tick tock in the US. Just just explain, you know how you you've been transparent contact with the administration has been limited in this period. But but that seems a possibility. Yeah, I think it is a third possibility. And this is again, I've said from the beginning, I think when push comes to shove or or when they see that this, this process has come to a conclusion. Tick tock will be solved without the algorithm. But you're quite right. And it may be shut down on the US side and and or China may just not allow it to be sold. These are all distinct possibilities. So there is there is uncertainty here. But look. Project Liberty is continuing to build the technology on board users and and create this alternative Internet, which we think is a we need now. The bottom line is we have an Internet that's broken, but nobody's not going to use it until there's an alternative. So our goal is to build that alternative and then and then actually migrate users and build and by the way, built new apps in this new world to integrate user base there. So who would not? And if given the choice of an Internet, that's surveillance you've scraped your data and and it basically exploits you versus an Internet where you're positioning the use of your data, you get paid for your data if it's a commercial use case that it's used for and you're in charge of you again, you're at the center. What? Right now we have an Internet where the platforms are at the center. We're all just commodities. We need an Internet where we're at the center, we have agency. Again, we're in charge, and we're respected, quite frankly.