Montana has become the first U.S. state to ban the Chinese-developed social media app TikTok after Governor Greg Gianforte signed a bill into law Montana has become the first U.S. state to ban the Chinese-developed social media app TikTok, as its Republican Governor Greg Gianforte signed a bill into law.
“To protect Montanans’ personal and private data from the Chinese Communist Party, I have banned Tiktok in Montana,” Mr Gianforte tweeted after signing the bill.
The new rule prohibits app stores from offering the video-sharing app from January 1, 2024, and prevents TikTok from operating as a business in the state. For those who violate and the social media platform is still available, app providers would have to pay a $10,000 fine.
Users do not face a fine, and those who already have the app on their devices are unaffected. Lawsuits challenging the ban based on the right to freedom of expression are expected.
Owned by Chinese company ByteDance, TikTok has already been banned on government-issued devices in Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Britain and the U.S. amid cybersecurity concerns.
