The governor of Montana, Greg Gianforte, signed a bill on Wednesday to ban TikTok activity in the state starting January 1, 2024. This is the first state in the US to decide to take such a step against the social network.
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"Today Montana is taking the most decisive action to protect the private data and sensitive personal information of its residents from the Chinese Communist Party," Gianforte said in a press release.
The Montana Legislature introduced the bill in February. TikTok, which reported 7,000 employees across the U.S., tried to fight the Montana decision for months, running ads featuring small Montana businesses that use TikTok.
Brooke Oberutter, a spokesperson for TikTok, said in response that "the governor signed a bill that violates the First Amendment rights of Montanans by imposing an illegal ban on TikTok, a platform that empowers hundreds of thousands of people across the state."
According to the legislation, the corporate network could face fines if it continues to operate in the country, as will Apple and Google if they allow residents to download the application.
As you may remember, the fight in Montana broke out against the background of an investigation that revealed that Tiktok may, allegedly, transfer sensitive user data into the hands of the Chinese government. Lawmakers and intelligence officials have even pointed to laws that they say allow Beijing to secretly receive data from Chinese companies and Chinese citizens for intelligence gathering.
