‘Make TikTok great again’: Kevin O’Leary explains his plan to save the platform

“Mr. Wonderful” Kevin O’Leary has partnered with another investor in an attempt to save TikTok and hopes that China and the Supreme Court will allow them to make it “wonderful again.”

The “Shark Tank” star is teaming up with Project Liberty founder Frank McCourt to buy the platform’s US assets from its parent company, ByteDance, and “rebuild the platform in a way that prioritizes the privacy of its 170 million American users.” ”

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TikTok is facing a possible ban due to the Protection of Americans from Applications Controlled by Foreign Enemies Act, a law signed by President Biden that was passed in Congress last April with bipartisan approval. At midnight on January 19, the app may be removed from US-based app stores unless it is removed from its parent company.

“I want to work with him [McCourt] because you’ve done a lot of work on the algorithm, and you’re allowing me to be part of this deal so we can buy TikTok without buying a Chinese spy,” O’Leary told “The Big Money Show” on Tuesday.

TikTok has faced controversy for being a China-based company and allegations that it is being used as spyware software for the Chinese Communist Party. Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have warned about the national security threat TikTok allegedly poses from US calls.

“The reason that TikTok is about to be canceled in the United States is because of the algorithms that allow you to be a spy,” O’Leary said, explaining how he and McCourt will redesign the platform so that users can decide whether to share their information with TikTok or not. not. Under their ownership, O’Leary argued, users who chose to share their data would be paid.

“If they share it, and they want to monetize it, they get a piece of the advertising action. I think that’s great,” he said. “We’re going to make this thing work the way the market wants it to work, and then we’re going to take it around the world.”

If their bid to acquire social media is successful, O’Leary explained how they would change the platform to better suit US interests.

Besides giving users ownership of their data and getting rid of “Chinese spyware”, the investor emphasized that TikTok has the potential to grow from its current 170 million users to “the last 200 million” by regaining the trust of users.

“We have to bring back everyone who doesn’t trust you, who won’t put you on their phone. And the way to do that is to democratize it, let people invest with us,” O’Leary said on Friday. on “Varney & Co,” on FOX Business.

O’Leary Ventures Chairman Kevin O’Leary discusses Biden’s efforts to cancel student loans. (Ting Shen/Bloomberg via Getty Images/Getty Images)

“The third thing that I think everyone will find attractive, including Trump, we will open it up to work together. So if you post on Truth Social or X, click here to fill in TikTok. Everyone would like to do that. And we can ask others, like Instagram and Meta, let’s do the same thing,” he added.

This investor also revealed how he will look for countries such as India, Switzerland, France, Canada and Germany to enter the field after the establishment of these changes.

“This thing is going to be the biggest television network in the world in about two years,” O’Leary said of TikTok’s growth.

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O’Leary and McCourt’s request will be affected by the highly anticipated Supreme Court decision to block the platform unless it is overturned and ByteDance’s willingness to do so if their hand is forced before the deadline. The High Court heard oral arguments on Friday in the fast-moving case aimed at getting President-elect Donald Trump back in the White House. A final decision is expected before Inauguration Day.

O’Leary explained how the Supreme Court’s decision to uphold the ban would be “good news” for their application.

“That means the company is going into a binary decision of whether to let it close at midnight on the 19th or contact the buyer,” he told America Reports on Friday on Fox News. “Now, you may know that we made an offer – I think we’re the only established organization that made an active offer last night – to ByteDance, and they might want to start considering it because there’s $30 billion to $40 billion. The number of American shareholders is tied there [Chinese President  Xi Jinping] if he wishes, we can just shut it down like they did in India and that capital is wiped out. And of course, that’s not good for raising money in the future. “

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O’Leary argued McCourt’s ambitious plans for TikTok relied heavily on Xi Jinping.

“I think the only important person in this agreement is the Supreme Leader, who should decide. All Chinese companies are controlled by him,” he said.

Chinese President Xi Jinping applauds during a joint press conference of the China-Central Asia Summit in Xian, north China’s Shaanxi Province on May 19, 2023. (Photo by FLORENCE LO/POOL/AFP via Getty Images/Getty Images)

O’Leary went on to explain how China wants to be taken “in space” to get money, explaining that every country needs it to develop its economy, even those in positions that oppose the US like China.

“They are competing for the biggest economy. So if you want to be the big boy and you want to play in international markets, you don’t take away the shareholders’ money. It’s not just American shareholders. Every private equity fund in the world, many of them have invested heavily in ByteDance ,” he said.

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“But it won’t be my decision or Frank McCourt’s decision. We both put our syndicate there. We made a promise. Every American shareholder has our offer. They know it. And this will really happen. ByteDance decides.”

O’Leary stressed that he thinks ByteDance should reconsider their proposal after their free trial argument “fell on deaf ears.”

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“We will make free speech possible. We will make it better and we will make sure that we comply with the order of the courts. This is the right way,” he said.