Axios

Project Liberty, founded by billionaire Frank McCourt, has pulled together participants for a consortium of investors interested in pursuing a “peoples bid” for TikTok, McCourt told Axios.

Why it matters: A U.S. court has until January 19 to decide whether TikTok should be banned if it does not find a U.S. buyer.

• With Big Tech under record antitrust scrutiny, a wealthy U.S. investor group could be a plausible buyer for the app — which could be worth anywhere from $20 billion to $100 billion, depending on how the U.S. part of the business is split from its parent.

State of play: McCourt launched Project Liberty, which includes both a for-profit company and a non-profit institute, in 2021 to help build and advocate for a safer and more equitable internet. He announced his intentions to assemble an investor group to buy the app in May.