Written by Reem Abdel Hamid
Thursday, May 18, 2023 10:28 AM
Montana has become the first US state to ban TikTok after the governor signed legislation banning mobile app stores from offering the app in the state by next year.
According to the Guardian newspaper, the move is among the most dramatic in a series of US escalation moves against TikTok, which is owned by Chinese technology company ByteDance.
TikTok has come under intense scrutiny over its connection to China, with concerns that the connections could pose a threat to national security.
The US federal government and more than half of the US states have banned the application on government agencies, and the Biden administration has threatened to ban the application nationwide unless the company sells its shares.
The company has previously denied that it had previously shared any data with the Chinese government, and said it would not do so if asked.
Commenting on the new law, TikTok said in a statement that it violates the rights granted to Montana residents under the First Amendment to the US Constitution by illegally banning TikTok. The statement confirmed the company’s determination to defend the rights of its users inside and outside Montana.
And last March, TikTok CEO Xu Zi Zhu was forced to defend the company’s relationship with China, at a congressional hearing, during which he was heavily criticized about the network’s impact on the mental health of young people.
TikTok is one of the most popular social networks in the world and has more than a million users in the United States, and there is still a question about the size of the ban that will be imposed and its impact on content makers on the platform.
The new Montana law will be implemented starting January 1, and the law prohibits downloading TikTok in the state, and will impose a fine on any entity, whether the App Store or TikTok, up to $ 10,000 per day every time a person is offered the ability to access the platform. or download the app. Penalties will not be applied to users.
