Montana Governor Greg Gianforte is banning TikTok statewide

Montana has become the first US state to enact a full ban on TikTok, with a law banning the popular Chinese-owned video-sharing app from operating in the state.

“To protect Montanans’ personal and private information from the Chinese Communist Party, I have banned TikTok in Montana,” Governor Greg Gianforte said in a statement Wednesday, shortly after signing the measure into law.

Taking effect January 1, 2024, the ban would not penalize individual TikTok users, but would impose hefty fines on Google and Apple if their app stores continue to offer TikTok within the state.

The ban certainly appears to be facing legal challenges, and TikTok has issued a statement saying the law “infringes on the First Amendment rights of the people of Montana by unlawfully banning TikTok.”

“We want to reassure Montanans that they can continue to use TikTok to express themselves, make a living and find community as we continue to work to defend the rights of our users inside and outside Montana,” the company added.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Montana and NetChoice, a trade group that counts Google and TikTok among its members, also called the law unconstitutional.

Montana’s ACLU policy director Keegan Medrano said the state legislature has “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 name of anti-Chinese sentiment.’

Gianforte, a Republican, called the new law “the most decisive action by any state to protect Montanans’ private data and sensitive personal information from collection by the Chinese Communist Party.”

The legislation, drafted by the Attorney General’s office, passed easily through the GOP-controlled Montana legislature.

TikTok, which has more than 150 million U.S. users, has come under increasing scrutiny from U.S. lawmakers and government officials seeking to ban the app over concerns about possible Chinese government influence over the platform.

TikTok, owned by China-based Byte-Dance, has repeatedly denied it ever shared data with the Chinese government and said the company would not do so if asked.

The app has become extremely popular with teenagers. According to the Pew Research Center, 67 percent of American teens ages 13 to 17 use TikTok, and 16 percent of all teens say they use the app almost constantly.

TikTok has said the “vast majority” of its users are over the age of 18.

TikTok issued a statement saying the law “infringes on the First Amendment rights of the people of Montana,” but the company has not yet said whether it plans to sue

TikTok, which has more than 150 million U.S. users, is under increasing scrutiny over concerns over potential Chinese government influence over the platform

In March, a congressional committee questioned TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew about whether the Chinese government has access to user data or can influence what Americans see in the app.

But calls to ban TikTok across the country or to give the Biden administration new powers to crack down on or ban TikTok have not progressed in Congress.

An attempt by former President Donald Trump to ban new TikTok and WeChat downloads through a 2020 Commerce Department order was blocked by multiple courts and never took effect.

Montana, which has a population of just over 1 million, said TikTok could face fines for any violation and additional fines of $10,000 per day if it violates the ban.

Apple and Google could also face fines of $10,000 per violation, per day if they violate the ban by offering TikTok in their Montana app stores.

Some lawmakers, the FBI and other agency officials are concerned that the video-sharing app, owned by ByteDance, could be used to allow the Chinese government to access information about US citizens or spread misinformation about Beijing that could influence the public. TikTok says none of this ever happened.

Gianforte, a Republican, said the law will “protect Montanans’ private data and sensitive personal information from collection by the Chinese Communist Party.”

A former executive of ByteDance claims the tech giant has served as a “propaganda tool” for the Chinese government, a claim that ByteDance says is unfounded.

When Montana banned the app on government-owned devices in late December, Gianforte said TikTok posed a “significant risk” to sensitive state data. More than half of the US states and federal government have similar bans.

On Wednesday, Gianforte also announced that starting June 1, he will ban the use of all social media applications linked to foreign adversaries on state equipment and for state-owned businesses in Montana.

Among the apps he mentioned are WeChat, whose parent company is headquartered in China; and Telegram Messenger, founded in Russia.