Montana becomes first U.S. state to ban TikTok on all devices

Montana becomes first U.S. state to ban TikTok on all devices.

TikTok, which is owned by Chinese company ByteDance, has been accused of posing a national security risk through data gathered from users.

If signed into law by Governor Greg Gianforte, the ban could come into effect in January.

The company has suggested that it would take legal action to fight the Montana bill.

It also refers to encouragement of “dangerous activities” among young users of the app, such as “throwing objects at moving automobiles” or “lighting a mirror on fire and then attempting to extinguish it using only one’s body parts”.

The legislation makes it illegal for app stores to offer TikTok. It does not, however, forbid those who already have TikTok from using it.

Violations of the bill could carry a penalty of up to $10,000 (£8,000), which would be enforced by Montana’s Department of Justice. The penalties apply to companies, rather than individual users.

Mr Gianforte, a Republican who previously banned the app on the devices of government employees, is expected to sign it.

In a statement, a TikTok spokesperson said that the “bill’s champions have admitted that they have no feasible plan for operationalising this attempt to censor American voices and that the bill’s constitutionality will be decided by the courts”.

“We will continue to fight for TikTok users and creators in Montana whose livelihoods and First Amendment rights are threatened by this egregious government overreach,” the spokesperson added.

The legislation specifically names TikTok as a target of the bill, and outlines potential penalties of $10,000 per violation per day. The penalties would also apply to any app store found to have violated the law. Individual users of TikTok, meanwhile, would not be penalized for accessing TikTok.

“The governor will carefully consider any bill the legislature sends to his desk,” said Brooke Stroyke, a spokesperson for Gianforte. In December, Gianforte banned TikTok from state government devices and the following month urged the Montana University System to follow suit, which it did.

In a statement, TikTok hinted at potential legal action to oppose the bill. “The bill’s champions have admitted that they have no feasible plan for operationalizing this attempt to censor American voices and that the bill’s constitutionality will be decided by the courts,” said TikTok spokesperson Brooke Oberwetter. “We will continue to fight for TikTok users and creators in Montana whose livelihoods and First Amendment rights are threatened by this egregious government overreach.”

Numerous governments worldwide, including in the United States, have used their authority over official devices they control to restrict TikTok from smartphones, computers and WiFi networks. But those restrictions do not extend to personal devices.