The first US state to pass a bill to ban TikTok

On April 14, lawmakers in the state of Montana (USA) voted to pass a law banning the use of Chinese TikTok in this state. According to CNN, this is the first US state to officially ban the use of TikTok on all personal devices throughout the region.

According to CNN, the voting results of lawmakers in the state of Montana were 54 votes in favor and 43 votes against. The bill is being submitted to the Governor for signature.

This law marks the furthest step by state governments in the US in restricting TikTok due to security concerns. At the same time, this is also the first test step for legislators before introducing laws to “say no” to this application.

If signed into law, the law banning the use and installation of TikTok within the state of Montana will take effect from January 2024. The law will ban the download of the TikTok app within the state of Montana, but any penalties will not apply to users but will apply to US app stores such as Apple, Google and TikTok itself. Under the bill, any violation would result in a $10,000 fine.

Meanwhile, TikTok is expected to take legal measures to oppose the bill. TikTok spokeswoman Brooke Oberwetter said supporters of the bill have shown that they have no viable means of implementing a ban on the app. Mr. Oberwetter noted that TikTok will continue to fight for users in the near term.

According to CNN, the TikTok ban in the state of Montana also encountered some hurdles. Specifically, a trade group sponsored by Apple and Google said that they cannot limit the download of the TikTok app to a single state.

In addition, opponents of the above ban also argue that TikTok users can spoof IP addresses (addresses used to communicate using Internet protocols) to use the application, and the ban The above can hardly be applied in border areas.

Previously, the Governor of Montana had previously banned TikTok on government devices.

TikTok, a video-sharing app with more than 150 million users in the US, is increasingly under scrutiny in the country due to concerns about user data leaks.