Frank McCourt, real estate and sports executive, is trying to buy the U.S. side of TikTok. His goal is not to run a social media company but to use TikTok’s massive user base to speed the launch of what he calls an “alternative internet.”
McCourt believes the internet is broken. He describes it as exploitative, surveillance-based and harmful. He wants an internet that empowers people, protects children and improves public life.
“We are building an alternative internet to the one that we have now, which we’ve concluded is broken, it’s exploitive and predatory and surveillance based,” he said. “We should have an internet that, instead of exploiting, empowers. We deserve an internet that actually protects kids, that empowers individuals and makes us all smarter, not dumber.”
Tomicah Tillemann
His $500 million initiative, Project Liberty, is led by Tomicah Tillemann, a former senior government official. Together, they want to decentralize the web so users, not platforms, control data.
The TikTok bid is a tactical move. McCourt says buying it without the Chinese technology would provide immediate scale.
“It’s about the user base and returning their data to that user base,” he explained. “We don’t want to own and operate a social media platform. We want to enable and build an alternative that empowers people.”
For McCourt, the mission is personal. He has raised children before and after the rise of the internet. The difference, he says, is stark. His younger children face peer pressure and online risks unknown to his older kids.
“I know what it’s like to raise children pre-internet and now I’m experiencing what it’s like to raise children with the internet as a predominant feature in their lives. I can tell you, as a parent, having done both, and doing both, it’s a totally different experience and a totally different set of responsibilities.”
Tillemann frames the issue as one of human agency.
“Our ability to make choices is what makes us human,” he said. “We are losing that ability because of how technology is developing.”
Frank McCourt
Project Liberty’s principles — voice, choice and stake — aim to return power to individuals in how their data is used, how platforms operate and who benefits economically.
Both men view the issue as larger than TikTok. McCourt warns that all major platforms exploit users. TikTok’s Chinese ownership raises additional concerns because it can influence what 170 million Americans think. But U.S.- based companies also collect and monetize personal data in ways that undermine autonomy.
McCourt cites Twitter founder Jack Dorsey’s remark that we talk too much about the loss of free speech and too little about the loss of free will. He believes this is a faith issue as much as a technology issue.
“In every faith tradition, the ability to make informed decisions and act on your beliefs is central,” he said. “If we lose that capacity, we risk losing something that goes to the essence of our personhood.”
Project Liberty is not a faith-based organization, but it sees value in partnering with faith communities. Last year it held a summit in Washington, D.C., that included a focus on faith leaders.
For Tillemann, the connection is clear: “Regardless of which faith tradition you adhere to, these principles of human agency and free will are kind of foundational. They are through virtually every single denomination and and every single religious tradition that exists in the world. When those come into jeopardy, we risk losing something really profound, we risk losing something that goes to the essence of our personhood.
“I think people of faith need to be very focused on these questions because unless and until we can preserve space for people to make informed decisions, ponder out what they really believe, and then act in accordance with those beliefs, we’re not going to be in a good spot, regardless of whether you’re an individual of faith or whether you’re somebody with no faith, we’re going to really pay a heavy price if we don’t fix that set of problems.”
Tilleman also noted, “We are losing our ability to exercise free agency, we are losing our ability to make informed decisions that we can control and that we can own, because of the way technology is growing up around us.”
“What’s at stake here is what it means to be a human being.”
McCourt has taken that message directly to religious leaders, including a private conversation with the former pope about the work of Project Liberty. He believes faith communities have an essential role in shaping the values of technology.
“What’s at stake here is what it means to be a human being,” he said. “This is very much a spiritual issue. Nothing could be more important to faith than protecting the God-given ability to choose your path.”
Both men believe change will require both top-down and grassroots action. McCourt likens the current stage of Project Liberty to building underground infrastructure — laying the pipes before installing faucets. The challenge is making the technology visible and usable for everyday people, the way ChatGPT suddenly made AI tangible.
Their public call to action is simple. Individuals can join “The People’s Bid for TikTok” through thepeoplesbid.com, subscribe to the Project Liberty newsletter at projectliberty.io, or email the team to explore ways to contribute.
He stresses this is not about nostalgia for a pre-digital world. It is about designing the next generation of the internet — what some call the “agentic web” — to optimize for human beings instead of platforms. That means giving people ownership of their identity, data, relationships, content and ideas.
Tillemann sees potential for a “digital renaissance” if the shift happens: “If we get this right, we will put the most powerful tools ever created back in the hands of people.”
The TikTok decision is now in the hands of the White House, with a September deadline for the company to be sold or shut down in the U.S. McCourt says his bid is the only one that meets both the letter and spirit of the law. But he insists the larger goal will continue regardless of what happens.
“This is about shifting power from platforms to people,” he said. “The TikTok bid is a proxy for the people’s internet.”