Ajit Karn
Montana became the first state in the US to ban TikTok on Wednesday, with the law scheduled to go into effect in 2019 as debate over the app’s impact and security intensifies.
The ban signed into law by Governor Greg Gianforte will serve as a legal test for a nationwide ban on the Chinese-owned platform, which Washington legislators are increasingly demanding.
“TikTok may not operate within the territorial jurisdiction of Montana,” according to a copy of the new law posted on the state’s website.
A violation of the restriction occurs whenever “a user accesses TikTok, is offered access to TikTok, or is offered the ability to download TikTok.”
Every day that a violation occurs, a $10,000 sanction is imposed.
According to the law, Apple and Google must remove TikTok from their app stores or face possible daily penalties.
The action will almost undoubtedly be challenged in court.
State political leaders have “trampled on the free speech of hundreds of thousands of Montanans who use the app to express themselves, gather information, and run their small businesses in the name of anti-Chinese sentiment,” according to Keegan Medrano, the ACLU Montana policy director.
The law stated that the prohibition will go into effect in 2024, but will be nullified if TikTok is acquired by a company incorporated in a country not designated as a foreign adversary by the United States.
“By unlawfully banning TikTok, Governor Gianforte has violated the First Amendment rights of the people of Montana,” a spokesperson for the company told AFP.
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“We want to reassure Montanans that they can continue to use TikTok to express themselves, earn a living, and find community as we continue to defend the rights of our users in Montana and beyond.”
TikTok has stated publicly that the constitutionality of the suspension will ultimately be determined by the courts.
The law is the most recent skirmish between TikTok and numerous western governments, with the app already banned on government devices in the United States, Canada, and a number of European nations.
The app is owned by the Chinese company ByteDance, which vehemently contradicts allegations made by a large number of US politicians that it is under the control of the Chinese government and used for espionage.
Gianforte himself stated on Twitter that he signed the prohibition to “protect Montanans’ personal and private data from the Chinese Communist Party.”
Despite its immense popularity, the White House has issued TikTok an ultimatum: either separate from its Chinese proprietors or cease operations in the United States.
Montana’s crackdown on TikTok comes as the app confronts national legislative proposals, including one that would grant the White House expansive new authority over Chinese technology companies.
