A consortium of US business leaders have reportedly submitted a bid to ByteDance, as part of their efforts to buy TikTok, ahead of a review over the impending ban that is going to come into effect on January 19th, just a day before Donald Trump’s inauguration ceremony in Washington. 
The consortium has labelled themselves as ‘The People’s Bid for TikTok, and was formed by US billionaire Frank McCourt in conjunction with non-profit organisation Project Liberty.
TikTok is seen as a national security threat by US lawmakers, and in April 2024, outgoing US President Joe Biden signed legislation that required ByteDance to sell-off its US assets.
The People’s Bid for TikTok have cited that they want to acquire TikTok’s US assets in an effort to relaunch the platform on a new, US-made digital infrastructure.
A spokesperson for Project Liberty has said that the plan to move 170 million monthly users to a US-based tech stack will place a huge emphasis on privacy and trust on the platform.
The story which was broke by USA Today said the consortium of associates verbally pledged up to $20bn for the purchase.
McCourt is best-known for owning major league basketball giants the Los Angeles Dodgers, before selling the franchise for $2.2bn in 2012. In addition to McCourt, another high-profile member of the consortium is Shark Tank TV star and serial investor Kevin O’Leary.
Trump will be sworn back into power on January 20th, but his stance in relation to TikTok has softened over the last few months.
Initially he supported the ban on TikTok, but in December he said he had a ‘warm spot’ in his heart for TikTok.
While Trump initially supported the ousting of TikTok in his first term as President, he stated in December 2024 that he has a “warm spot in my heart for TikTok”.
Trump formally requested the Supreme Court to hold off on hearing arguments by TikTok and ByteDance on January 10th, about the proposed ban until he becomes president.
However, the US Department of Justice opposed the delay.
“By keeping the platform alive without relying on the current TikTok algorithm and avoiding a ban, millions of Americans can continue to enjoy the platform. We look forward to working with ByteDance, President-elect Trump, and the incoming administration to get this deal done,” McCourt stated.