Amidst the pressure that the US is giving on TikTok and its owners, select states in the US are pushing for the outright ban of using TikTok, with Montana being the first state to do so.
Montana Governor Greg Gianforte signed legislation on Wednesday (May 17) to ban TikTok from operating in the state “to protect residents from alleged intelligence gathering by China.” With the ban set to take effect on January 1, 2024, this means that Google and Apple will not be allowed to offer TikTok within the state of Montana–but it will not impose penalties on those using the app.
Being a big development in the US’ push to ban the app, TikTok issued a statement, saying that the newly-signed law “infringes on the First Amendment rights of the people of Montana by unlawfully banning TikTok.” Because the law is set to face legal challenges, Tiktok commits to “defend the rights of our users inside and outside of Montana.”
The US has over 150 million TikTok users amidst calls to ban the app nationwide over security concerns. According to research from Pew Research Center, 67% of US teens aged 13 to 17 use TikTok, and 16% of all teens say that they use the app frequently.
Despite US Congress filling TikTok on whether the Chinese government could access user data, TikTok has repeatedly denied the accusation.
