From January the 1st 2024, the social media platform TikTok will be banned in the state of Montana in the United States, this is the first US state to ban the social media platform, that has alleged ties to the Chinese government. Many government departments in the UK have banned the use of the app.
The news of the ban was announced by Montana Governor Greg Gianforte, the ban will come into place in January of next year and companies like Apple and Google will face fines if the apps are allowed to be downloaded in the state, individual users will not face any sort of penalties. You can see the statement from Governor Greg Gianforte below.
“Today, Montana takes the most decisive action of any state to protect Montanans’ private data and sensitive personal information from being harvested by the Chinese Communist Party,”
Exactly how Montana will enforce this ban, if it goes ahead remains to be seen, users will easily be able to get around the ban, as they could just use a VPN to appear like they are using the app from a different state.
TikTok is expected to appeal the ruling, the company’s spokesperson Brooke Obverwetter had the following to say about the recent ruling.
“We 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,”
It will be interesting to see what happens and if the ban actually comes into force, it is scheduled to take place from the 1st of January 2024, although it is expected to be challenged in court before then.
Source Governor Greg Gianforte, Brooke Oberwetter, Techmeme
Image Credit: Solen Feyissa
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