Montana signed a bill into law banning TikTok. They're the first state to do so. The ban will be effective January 1, and according to NPR, is the most drastic measure any state has taken against the popular social media app.
Gov. Greg Gianforte signed the bill on Wednesday, allegedly protecting Montana users from the Chinese government. TikTok is owned by Beijing-based tech giant ByteDance. Many national security experts and members of the White House, have been nervous about the app because of the fear that China is mining data from US users. There hasn't been evidence publicly that China has ever searched user data.
Although residents of Montana will be directly affected, it's the tech companies like Apple and Google that will be charged. For example, these companies that have app stores with TikTok could be subjected to fines up to $10,000 a day for letting people download the app. Neither company has responded to the law.
Many cyber security experts wonder if the state even has the technological capabilities to enforce this ban. Even those who live outside the state that live on the border could be negatively impacted if their cell phone connects to a Montana tower, according to Roger Entner.
But TikTok isn't going down without a fight. They can challenge the Montana TikTok ban under the violation of the First Amendment. The ACLU is in support. The ACLU released a statement saying, “The government cannot impose a total ban on a communications platform like TikTok unless it is necessary to prevent extremely serious, immediate harm to national security. But there's no public evidence of harm that would meet the high bar set by the U.S. and Montana Constitutions, and a total ban would not be the only option for addressing such harm if it did exist.”
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