Montana Makes History as First State to Ban TikTok Over Privacy Concerns

Montana has made headlines by becoming the first state to ban the widely popular social media app TikTok. Governor Greg Gianforte signed Senate Bill 419 into law, citing the need to safeguard the private information of the state’s residents and highlighting the potential threat posed by the Chinese government. Governor Gianforte stated that there is ample documentation showing the Chinese Communist Party’s use of TikTok for spying, privacy violations, and the collection of personal and sensitive data.

Critics of TikTok argue that although direct evidence of the Chinese government accessing user data is lacking, Chinese laws allowing government access to company records raise concerns. Under the new measure in Montana, platforms offering the TikTok app on their marketplaces, such as the Google Play Store and the Apple App Store, may face fines of up to $10,000 per day for violations.

The ban is set to take effect on January 1, 2024. It is anticipated that TikTok will challenge the bill in federal court, with groups like the American Civil Liberties Union claiming the ban is unconstitutional. Montana’s action follows the December 2022 ban of TikTok on state government electronic devices, and Governor Gianforte further stated that the ban would extend to include all social media applications that share user information with foreign adversaries or entities located in designated foreign adversary countries.

In a similar vein, President Biden previously signed legislation prohibiting the use of TikTok on government devices, and he has been considering a potential complete ban if TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, fails to secure an American buyer. The United States, along with its “Five Eyes” security partners (Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom), already prohibits TikTok on federal government devices due to national security concerns.