TikTok to be Completely Banned Following Draft Law Approval – Latest Update
Montana Could Become the First US State to Completely Ban TikTok
The Montana state legislature has voted on a bill that proposes a ban on TikTok’s use throughout the state. The bill was passed with 54 «yes» votes to 43 «no» votes and now awaits approval from Republican Governor Greg Gianforte. If the bill gets approved, Montana will become the first US state to completely ban TikTok.
Last year, TikTok was banned from government devices in Montana. The United States Senate also unanimously passed a bill on December 15, 2022, which prohibits federal government employees from downloading TikTok onto state-owned devices because of «national security concerns.» The House of Representatives also banned the download and use of the TikTok application on official devices used by its members and employees on December 28, 2022.
The ‘national security concerns’ arose because of the suspicion that the Chinese Communist Party could use the short-form video sharing app to access users’ personal data and continue with censorship and propaganda.
Many government agencies, including the White House, Department of Defense, Department of Homeland Security, and the State Department, had already prohibited the use of TikTok before the Congress vote.
Various states, such as Maryland, Nebraska, South Carolina, South Dakota, Indiana, and Texas, have already passed similar laws banning the use of TikTok. Montana is likely to join this group if the proposed bill becomes law.
As the use of TikTok continues to grow, many countries worldwide have banned the app, including India, which is TikTok’s largest market in terms of downloads. Australia also recently blocked the app, citing concerns about content, safety, and data privacy.
With the Montana state legislature’s vote hanging in the balance, it will be interesting to see how this ban on TikTok plays out.
