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TikTok ban: Montana set to become first US state to completely prohibit China-owned app
- Watershed vote sets up legal fight with Chinese-owned platform, serving as test for national ban on the video-sharing app
- TikTok decries ‘egregious government overreach’ and vows to continue to fight for app’s users and creators in Montana
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Robert Delaneyin Washington
Lawmakers in Montana voted on Friday to ban popular Chinese-owned video-sharing app TikTok, sending the matter to the US state’s governor to sign the first such blanket ban on the platform into law.
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The Montana House voted 54 to 43 in favour of the ban, which is likely to trigger a series of court battles that could reach the US Supreme Court if Governor Greg Gianforte signs the bill.
Some 150 million Americans use TikTok, which is owned by the Chinese tech company ByteDance, and some US lawmakers have spoken out against blanket bans enacted over concerns that the app gives the Chinese government access to user data.
Under the proposed law, which would take effect in 2024, Apple and Google would have to remove TikTok from their app stores, and companies found in violation would face daily fines of US$10,000.
In February, US President Joe Biden gave federal agencies 30 days to wipe TikTok off all government devices, and more than half of America’s 50 states have similar bans.
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In a statement issued soon after the Montana vote, a TikTok spokeswoman in the US called the move an act of censorship.
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