A view of the TikTok app logo, in Tokyo, September 28, 2020.
Kiichiro Sato/AP
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Kiichiro Sato/AP
A view of the TikTok app logo, in Tokyo, September 28, 2020.
Kiichiro Sato/AP
Montana has become the first state to ban the popular social media app TikTok.
Governor Greg Gianforte signed Senate Bill 419 into law On Wednesday, said he wants to protect the private information of state residents from being compromised. from the He pointed to the Chinese government as a potential threat.
“The Chinese Communist Party using TikTok to spy on Americans, violate their privacy, and collect their personal, private and sensitive information is well documented,” said Governor Gianforte.
There is no direct evidence that the Chinese government has ever accessed TikTok user data. However, critics of TikTok point to laws in China that allow the government access to a company’s customer records.
According to the measure in Montana, platforms that offer the app in their markets, such as the Google Play Store and the Apple App Store, will be subject to fines of up to $10,000 per day for violations.
The ban will come into effect on January 1, 2024. It is expected that TikTok will challenge the bill in federal court. She and groups like the American Civil Liberties Union have said the ban is unconstitutional.
Last December, Gianforte banned TikTok on state government electronic devices. On Wednesday, he added that the ban would expand to include “all social media applications that collect and provide users’ personal information or data to a foreign adversary, or a person or entity located in a country designated as foreign opponent.”
President Biden signed legislation banning the app from government agencies last December, and was considering a full ban if TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, can’t find an American buyer. The United States and its “Five Eyes” security partners — Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United Kingdom — have banned TikTok from federal government devices, citing concerns about the -national security.
