Montana Becomes First State To Vote To Completely Ban Residents From TikTok

Welp, it’s happened. Following rumors that TikTok could soon face a nationwide ban in the United States, Montana has officially become the first state to ban the application on all personal devices completely.

Authorities in the House voted 54-43 in favor of bill SB419, which would see residents within the region no longer able to download or use the social media platform on their smartphones. It now remains to be seen if Governor Greg Gianforte will sign the move into law.

Fortunately, according to terms of the legislation, it doesn’t seem that individual users will face the music for accessing the network. Rather, according to CNN, the bill targets TikTok itself, saying the company could face fines of up to US$10,000 per violation per day.

App stores, such as the Apple App Store and Google Play Store, could also face penalties if they continue to offer TikTok for download. While the technology giants have yet to respond, TikTok released a statement hinting that it could mount a legal defense to oppose the ban.

As per the BBC, a spokesperson for the platform said that there was “no feasible plan for operationalizing this attempt to censor American voices,” and that it has plans to challenge the bill’s “constitutionality” in court.

The US isn’t the only country that has enacted bans on TikTok, with other countries, including Australia, Belgium, and Canada, also banning the network on government-issued devices, citing a “risk to privacy and security.”

[via CNN and BBC, cover image via Michele Ursi | Dreamstime.com]