TikTok and Project Liberty

Introduction

• TikTok faces a potential ban in the US if a new owner is not found within 30 days.
• 170 million Americans and 7 million small businesses use TikTok, indicating its popularity.
• Emotional response to TikTok's 14-hour shutdown in January.

Project Liberty's Mission

• Founded over five years ago to redesign the internet to empower individuals.
• Aims to decentralize the internet, focusing on individual ownership of data and relationships.
• Critiques current internet as centralized, surveillance-based, and exploitative.
• Emphasizes the need for people to own and benefit from their data.

TikTok as a Gateway

• Project Liberty views TikTok's user base as a potential to scale their decentralized internet vision.
• "People's Bid" aims to give users and creators a stake in the platform.
• Kevin O’Leary highlights TikTok’s importance for small businesses and its low customer acquisition costs.

Vision for a New Internet

• Transitioning to an internet where users own their data and set terms for its use.
• Users could have a single sign-on for all internet applications.
• Interoperable apps and portable data allow more user control.

Business Perspective

• The new internet would still accommodate advertising but shift from inference-based to intention-based targeting.
• Users would signal their interests, providing higher value to advertisers.

Challenges and Opportunities

• TikTok ban could hurt small entrepreneurs as it did in India in 2020.
• TikTok's popularity is essential for many businesses; politicians are keen to resolve the situation.
• Legal and geopolitical complexities with China and ByteDance regarding the sale.

Algorithm and Technology

• The future of TikTok's algorithm is uncertain; China unlikely to sell it.
• Project Liberty sees potential in other algorithms and customizable user experiences.

User Empowerment

• Aim for users to own communities they build and have sovereignty over digital identities.
• Project Liberty to continue regardless of TikTok acquisition.

Potential and Future

• Project Liberty is engaging with various platforms and apps to adopt their technology stack.
• The goal is to provide an alternative internet that prioritizes human agency.

Addressing Internet Harms

• Current internet criticized for amplifying harmful content and behavior.
• The new model aims to minimize negative impacts through better technology.

Conclusion

• The conversation highlighted the promise of a decentralized internet empowering users.
• Project Liberty continues to seek broad adoption and integration of its technology to achieve its vision.