People don't know what they don't have until you sell it to them, right? And I'm pretty confident that when people see that there's a version of TikTok 2.0 where they curate their own algorithm, they're in charge, and they own their own data and parse their own data and so on. If you get value, people will clamor for it. , They will run in that direction. This is a much better model.
We can debate this all day, but we are the ones who will take the risk. We are the ones who are putting the money in and saying it will work. ByteDance can shut it down, or they can get the money for the platform and wish us luck.
At the moment, TikTok is associated with specific types of content, such as dance, silly videos, and younger audiences. Do you intend for the new version of TikTok to maintain that focus?
Well, I think the Gen Z user base is important to keep it engaged, because young people create the culture. And TikTok is a culture maker if there ever was one. But I would like to add that recent surveys show that 47 percent of Gen ZAlthough they use it many hours a day, they wish it had never been invented. Because of the highly addictive nature, and how they feel sometimes after spending so much time. So let's create a healthy version, where it's a super polished app, easy to use, and looks just like it's supposed to. But users are in charge.
Do you believe that giving teens complete control without manipulative algorithms will help them reduce their screen time?
I think once you put control in the hands of individuals, people will make choices for themselves. Some will make good choices, some will make bad choices. However, what is really important is that when you are talking about very young people, the parents must have some capacity to be parents. The youth need guidance. They need parenting, and it's so hard to compete for parents now [with the algorithm],
So we need to step back. TikTok is amazing. We want to keep it alive. Let's make a better version of this. But you know: healthy teens are amazing too. Being a good parent is also wonderful. Human individual rights and protecting them is also wonderful. Protecting American citizens is also wonderful.
If TikTok's Supreme Court appeal takes a while, will you still want to buy the app, even months or years from now?
Yes, whenever that happens we are ready to do that. The big coincidence for me here is that this became a law and TikTok can be taken over. Because moving 170 million people to a new stack will catalyze this alternative advanced Internet very quickly. Right now, one of our big problems is that we argue about this internet, but unless there is another option, people are stuck.
I compare it to large-scale, human physical migration. There are people who live in very difficult places – in the case of my ancestors, there was famine – they really want to move somewhere else. But a second condition is necessary, and that is that you need a place to go. Right now, people are becoming wise to the disadvantages of the current internet, and the fact that they are being taken advantage of and not being rewarded fairly or impartially. But nothing is going to happen unless there is an alternative and a place for them to go.