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<\/p>\nHELENA, Mont. (AP) \u2014 Montana became the first state in the U.S. to enact a complete ban on TikTok on Wednesday when Republican Gov. Greg Gianforte signed a measure that’s more sweeping than any other state’s attempts to curtail the social media app, which is owned by a Chinese tech company.<\/p>\n
The measure, scheduled to take effect on Jan. 1, 2024, is expected to be challenged legally and will serve as a testing ground for the\u00a0TikTok-free America that many national lawmakers have envisioned.\u00a0Cybersecurity experts say it\u00a0could be difficult to enforce the ban.<\/p>\n
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\u201cToday, Montana takes the most decisive action of any state to protect Montanans\u2019 private data and sensitive personal information from being harvested by the Chinese Communist Party,\u201d Gianforte said in a statement.<\/p>\n
TikTok spokesperson Brooke Oberwetter argued that the law infringes on people\u2019s First Amendment rights and is unlawful. She declined to say whether the company will file a lawsuit.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe want to reassure Montanans that they can continue using TikTok to express themselves, earn a living, and find community as we continue working to defend the rights of our users inside and outside of Montana,\u201d Oberwetter said in a statement.<\/p>\n
The American Civil Liberties of Montana and NetChoice, a trade group that counts Google and TikTok as its members, also called the law unconstitutional. Keegan Medrano, policy director for the ACLU of Montana, said the Legislature \u201ctrampled 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 the name of anti-Chinese sentiment.\u201d<\/p>\n
Some lawmakers, the FBI and officials at other agencies are concerned the video-sharing app, owned by ByteDance,\u00a0could be used to allow the Chinese government to access information on U.S. citizens\u00a0or push pro-Beijing misinformation that could influence the public.\u00a0TikTok says none of this has ever happened.<\/p>\n
A former executive at ByteDance\u00a0alleges the tech giant has served as a \u201cpropaganda tool\u201d\u00a0for the Chinese government, a claim ByteDance says is baseless.<\/p>\n
When Montana banned the app on government-owned devices in late December, Gianforte said TikTok posed a \u201csignificant risk\u201d to sensitive state data.\u00a0More than half of U.S. states and the federal government\u00a0have a similar ban.<\/p>\n
On Wednesday, Gianforte also announced he was prohibiting the use of all social media applications tied to foreign adversaries on state equipment and for state businesses in Montana effective on June 1. Among the apps he listed are WeChat, whose parent company is headquartered in China; and Telegram Messenger, which was founded in Russia.<\/p>\n
The legislation, drafted by the attorney general\u2019s office, easily passed through Montana\u2019s GOP-controlled Legislature.<\/p>\n
Gianforte\u00a0had wanted to expand the TikTok bill\u00a0to include apps tied to foreign adversaries, but lawmakers did not send him the bill until after the session ended this month, preventing him from offering any amendments.<\/p>\n
Montana’s new law prohibits downloads of TikTok in the state and would fine any \u201centity\u201d \u2014 an app store or TikTok \u2014 $10,000 per day for each time someone \u201cis offered the ability\u201d to access the social media platform or download the app. The penalties would not apply to users.<\/p>\n
Opponents say Montana residents could easily circumvent the ban by using a virtual private network, a service that shields internet users by encrypting their data traffic, preventing others from observing their web browsing. Montana state officials say geofencing technology is used with online sports gambling apps, which are deactivated in states where online gambling is illegal.<\/p>\n
Though many lawmakers in Montana have been enthusiastic about a ban, experts who followed the bill closely said the state will likely have to defend the legislation in court.<\/p>\n
Officials are also bound to receive criticism from advocacy groups and TikTok users who don\u2019t want their favorite app to be taken away. The app\u2019s fun, goofy videos and ease of use has made it immensely popular, and U.S. tech giants like Snapchat and Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, see it as a competitive threat.<\/p>\n
TikTok has been recruiting so-called influencers and small businesses who use the platform to push back on a ban. But others who haven\u2019t been part of an official campaign coordinated by the company are also worried about what lawmakers are doing.<\/p>\n
Adam Botkin, a former football player and recent graduate at the University of Montana, said it was a scary time for him as a content creator in Montana. The 22-year-old has nearly 170,000 followers on TikTok, where he mostly posts short videos of himself performing football kicks.<\/p>\n
He says he sometimes makes \u201ctens of thousands\u201d of dollars per month from brands looking to market their products on his social media accounts, including Instagram, where he has roughly 44,000 followers.<\/p>\n
Botkin says most of his income comes from Instagram, which is believed to be more lucrative for content creators. But he has to grow his following on that platform \u2014 and others \u2014 to have the same level of popularity that he does on TikTok. He says he\u2019s trying to do that and won\u2019t try to circumvent the TikTok ban by using a VPN.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou got to adapt and evolve with how things move,\u201d Botkin said. \u201cSo, if I have to adapt and move, I\u2019ll adapt.\u201d<\/p>\n
Chatter about a TikTok ban has been around since 2020, when then-President Donald Trump attempted to bar the company from operating in the U.S. through an executive order that was\u00a0halted in federal courts. President Joe Biden\u2019s administration initially shelved those plans, but more recently threatened to ban the app if the company\u2019s Chinese owners don\u2019t sell their stakes.<\/p>\n
TikTok doesn\u2019t want either option and has been clamoring to prove it’s free of any Chinese government interference. It\u2019s also\u00a0touting a data safety plan\u00a0it calls \u201cProject Texas\u201d to assuage bipartisan concerns in Washington.<\/p>\n
At the same time, some lawmakers have emerged as allies, arguing efforts to restrict data harvesting practices need to include all social media companies, not just one. Republican Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky blocked a bill in March that would ban TikTok nationally, saying such a move would violate the Constitution and\u00a0anger the millions of voters\u00a0who use the app.<\/p>\n
Montana\u2019s TikTok ban also comes amid a growing movement to limit social media use among kids and teens and, in some cases, impose bans. Several bills circulating in Congress aim to get at the issue, including one that would prohibit all children under the age of 13 from using social media and require permission from a guardian for users under 18 to create an account.<\/p>\n
Some states, including\u00a0Utah\u00a0and\u00a0Arkansas, have already enacted laws that would hinge social media use on parental consent. Similar bills are in the works in other states. Last year,\u00a0California\u00a0enacted a law requiring companies to beef up data protection practices for children and offer them the highest privacy settings.<\/p>\n
Source: Hadero, USA<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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