Montana is about to become the first state to ban TikTok

Montana is poised to become the first state to ban TikTok. The state’s legislature passed a bill requiring app stores to block the app in the state. The bill will now head to Republican Governor Greg Gianforte, who previously banned the app from state-owned devices.

The ban is slated to go into effect in 2024, though it will likely face legal challenges well before then. Still, the bill has been closely watched as pressure ramps up on TikTok. CEO Shou Chew testified at a Congressional hearing last month where he tried, largely unsuccessfully, to downplay the company’s ties to ByteDance and China.

Meanwhile, the United States government is trying to force ByteDance to divest from TikTok entirely. As The New York Timespoints out, Montana’s ban could serve as a kind of template for the rest of the country, even though it’s unclear whether such bans will hold up to legal challenges.

A TikTok spokesperson didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. The company condemned the bill in a statement last month, saying the ban would hurt local businesses that rely on the app. “No government, as far as we know, has ever told Americans what they can or can’t download from an app store or access on the web,” the company wrote. “This is a decision that deserves a second look.”

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This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/montana-is-about-to-become-the-first-state-to-ban-tiktok-211845076.html?src=rss

Author: Karissa Bell. [Source Link (*), Engadget is a web magazine with obsessive daily coverage of everything new in gadgets and consumer electronics]

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