On Wednesday, Montana Governor Greg Gianforte signed legislation to ban CCP-controlled TikTok from operating in the state to protect residents from intelligence gathering by the Chinese Communist Party, making it the first U.S. state to ban the popular short video app.
Montana will make it unlawful for Google and Apple’s app stores to offer TikTok within the state, but will not impose any penalties on individuals using the app. The ban is to take effect Jan. 1, 2024, and is almost certain to face legal challenges.
TikTok, which has over 150 million American users, has faced growing calls from U.S. lawmakers and state officials to ban the app nationwide over concerns about potential Chinese government influence over the platform.
According to the Pew Research Center, 67% of U.S. teens ages 13 to 17 use TikTok, and 16% of all teens say they use the app almost constantly.
Gianforte, a Republican, said the bill will further “our shared priority to protect Montanans from Chinese Communist Party surveillance.”
Montana, which has a population of just over 1 million people, said TikTok could face fines for each violation and additional fines of $10,000 per day if it violates the ban.
The short video app can be downloaded in app stores on Apple Inc and Google devices. Apple and Google, a unit of Alphabet Inc, could also face fines of $10,000 per violation, per day if they violate the ban.
MacDailyNews Take: Could trigger a domino effect.
See also: U.S. President Trump issues executive orders banning TikTok and WeChat – August 7, 2020
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