Ohanian said he would join an initiative called "The People's Bid for TikTok," launched by real estate and sports tycoon Frank McCourt's Project Liberty initiative, in a campaign joined by investor Kevin O'Leary, known from the "Shark Tank" television show in which entrepreneurs pitch ideas in bids for venture capital.

The group's approach includes a crowdfunding element aimed at giving individuals and small businesses a stake in the future of TikTok, which is facing a US law ordering it to divest from its Chinese owner ByteDance.

"I've spent my entire career building tech that puts power back in people's hands -- that's what got me excited about The People's Bid," Ohanian said in a release.

"This isn't just about TikTok, it's about fundamentally rewiring how the internet works."

Project Liberty has promised to integrate a custom-made blockchain platform into TikTok that will let users control and own their data.

TikTok returned to Apple and Google app stores in February but still faces being banned in the United States over national security concerns about the data it gathers on users.

The popular video-sharing app briefly went dark late on January 18 and disappeared from app stores, to the dismay of millions of users.

The service was restored when US President Donald Trump began his second term in January and ordered a 75-day pause on enforcing the law, signed by his predecessor Joe Biden and passed overwhelmingly by Congress.

The TikTok ban was passed due to concerns that the Chinese government could exploit the app to spy on Americans or covertly influence US public opinion through data collection and content manipulation.

The law ordered the company to divest from ByteDance or be banned.

As the clock ticks down on TikTok's reprieve, which ends early April, several contenders are in the running to buy the app.

The list of TikTok suitors includes Microsoft, Oracle and a group that includes Internet personality MrBeast, whose real name is Jimmy Donaldson.

TikTok does not appear overly motivated regarding the sale of the app, and Chinese firm DeepSeek's AI chatbot has grabbed the tech community's attention -- potentially taking the spotlight off TikTok.

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