Why has Montana banned TikTok?

Montana will become the first state in the US to ban Chinese-owned TikTok after Governor Greg Gianforte signed legislation that will make it unlawful for Google and Apple’s app stores to offer TikTok within the state. The video-sharing app is owned by Chinese company ByteDance.

The federal government, as well as half of US states, have already banned the app on government devices.

The ban comes after a bipartisan congressional hearing with TikTok’s CEO, Shou Zi Chew, that took place in March. The hearing took place to explore the company’s relationship with the Chinese government.

TikTok has repeatedly denied that it has shared data with the Chinese government, adding it would refuse to do so if asked.

Mr Gianforte, a Republican, said the ban will further ‘our shared priority to protect Montanans from Chinese Communist Party surveillance.’

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In a statement regarding the bill, TikTok said: ‘We want to reassure Montanans that they can continue using TikTok to express themselves, earn a living, and find community as we continue working to defend the rights of our users inside and outside of Montana.’

Whilst the bill bans app stores from offering TikTok, beginning Jan. 1 2024, it will not ban people who already have TikTok installed on their devices from using it.

Penalties will apply to companies rather than individual users. If TikTok, Apple, and Google refuse to cooperate with the ban and continue to offer the app to users, they could face fines of up to $10,000 per day. These fines would be enforced by Montana’s Department of Justice.

Keegan Medrano, a policy director at the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), criticised the bill as ‘unconstitutional’. In a statement Medrano said: ‘with this ban, Governor Gianforte and the Montana legislature 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 business in the name of anti-Chinese sentiment.’

The Biden administration has earlier said that TikTok faces a possible nationwide ban if it does not sell the Chinese stake in its ownership. However, TikTok shared it is working on Project Texas, an initiative that moves all US-based data to US servers operated by tech company Oracle.

Former president Donald Trump previously tried to implement a nationwide ban on TikTok. However, the move was blocked by multiple courts and never took effect.

The ban is almost certain to face legal challenges before it takes effect at the beginning of next year.

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