American billionaire wants to buy TikTok - but not its ‘highly addictive algorithm’
For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Factor in America-China business relations, the fact the Chinese government owns part of ByteDance, the complicated ownership structure surrounding TikTok itself and plenty more besides, and it’s clear there are several hurdles to jump. Instead, in an interview with the Times he said he wants the app to be one where users can “signal their interests, express their intent, verify that they’re a human being” and receive ads and content based on that, rather than now where the app works by looking to “surveil people, profile them, target them and push ads towards them”. “Put the power in people’s hands to make those choices” around privacy, content use, censorship and moderation, McCourt says.
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