US state Montana Banned TikTok
The US state of Montana banned TikTok starting from January 1, 2024. The Governor of Montana, Greg Gianforte signed the SB 419 bill today which requires Google Play Store, Apple App Store, etc to remove the app from their listings for Montana residents beginning next year.
If Google or Apple fails to remove TikTok from their App Store starting January 1, 2024, both the app store operators and TikTok will be penalized $10,000 daily by the state of Montana.
Why did Montana ban TikTok you may ask. Governor Gianforte claims TikTok is “tied to foreign adversaries” and is providing significant amounts of user data to the Chinese Communist Party. That’s the reason. Well, TikTok is expected to appeal the bill in court.
TikTok is just one app tied to foreign adversaries. Today I directed the state’s Chief Information Officer to ban any application that provides personal information or data to foreign adversaries from the state network. pic.twitter.com/92Im6D9Jgx
— Governor Greg Gianforte (@GovGianforte) May 17, 2023