Montana passes bill to ban TikTok completely
On May 17, 2023, Montana Governor Greg Gianforte, a Republican politician, took the
lead in signing a bill to ban TikTok for Montana citizens, making the state the
first in the U.S. to completely ban TikTok in the legal sense. It is the toughest
ban issued against the app in the nation and will almost certainly be challenged in
court. The ban will take effect Jan. 1.
TikTok is one of the most popular
social media apps in the world today, with more than 100 million users in the United
States. However, TikTok has been facing a crackdown from the U.S. because its parent
company, ByteDance, is a Chinese company. The U.S. government claims TikTok could
pose a national security threat.
“Today, Montana takes the most decisive
action of any state to protect Montanans’ private data and sensitive personal
information,” Mr. Gianforte, a Republican, said in a news release.
The bill
was introduced in the Montana Legislature in February, sparking a debate that lasted
for months. The controversy surrounding the bill in part foreshadowed what would
happen if Congress or the White House tried to push the TikTok ban across the
country.
Under the legislation, if TikTok continues to operate in the state,
both Apple and Google could face fines if they still allow users to download the
app. Apple and Google did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
They
also expressed concern that the app could be used to spread political propaganda,
and that TikTok is particularly popular among teens and people in their 20s. At a
hearing in March, Congress grilled TikTok CEO Chow for about five hours in rounds of
questioning.
TikTok has come up with a detailed proposal for operating in
the U.S. that it says would alleviate concerns about national security and
misinformation issues, but the proposal has yet to be approved by the Biden
administration, leaving TikTok and its future in doubt.
The Montana bill
would make the ban null and void if TikTok is acquired by a company that is not
registered in a country "designated as an external hostile power.