On Friday, Montana became the first US state to pass legislation banning Tiktok within state lines.
The bill will ban Tiktok on almost all personal devices and will also ban app stores from offering Tiktok. The law has yet to be signed into law by Montana’s governor, but would not go into effect until 2024.
Tiktok is under pressure in the USA because of suspected espionage. Several states are already banning public sector workers from using Tiktok on their work phones.
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On Friday, Montana state lawmakers voted in favor of a bill that would Tiktok prohibited within state borders. The Montana House of Representatives voted on Friday afternoon (local time). 54 to 43 votes for the lawafter the state Senate passed the law back in March, as the US news channel KTVH reported.
The law now has to be approved by Montana Governor Greg Gianforte. when it is signed it will come into force from January 2024.
Tiktok ban on all personal devices and app stores
The bill, known as SB 419, bans Tiktok on all personal devices and also bans app stores from offering Tiktok within the state. According to the bill, each individual violation of the ban will be punishable by a fine of $10,000 (€9,000), plus an additional $10,000 for each day the violation continues. Montana had already banned the use of Tiktok on government devices last year.
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According to KTVH, Senator Shelley Vance, one of the protagonists behind the bill, said in February, “After years of investigative reporting, we now know that Tiktok is a threat to the safety of Montans and Americans in general.” Vance added: “We know beyond a doubt that Tiktok’s parent company, ByteDance, acts as a surveillance arm of the Chinese Communist Party and collects information about Americans against their will.”
Tiktok wants to appeal the verdict
Tiktok, meanwhile, is preparing to challenge the ban. The company did not immediately respond to Business Insider’s request for comment. A spokesman said the “Wall Street Journal” but that the company “will continue to fight for Montana’s Tiktok users and creators whose livelihoods and First Amendment rights are being threatened by this egregious government overreaching.”
Other groups, such as the American Civil Liberties Union, are also protesting the Montana law. She sent a letter Tuesday to members of the Montana House of Representatives. In it, the ACLU arguedthat the ban would violate the rights of the “hundreds of thousands of Montans who use the app to communicate, gather information, and express themselves every day.”
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The vote is significant because it can lay the groundwork for other states to follow. However, it is still unclear how parts of the ban will be enforced in Montana. Gov. Gianforte’s office did not immediately respond to Insider’s request for comment.
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