2023-05-25 18:15:39
Icon of social network TikTok on tablet screen. Photo: AFP/VNA
TikTok argues that Montana’s ban, effective January 1, 2024, violates the right to free speech protected by the US Constitution.
Earlier, on May 7, Montana Governor Greg Gianforte signed a law banning TikTok, making Montana the first state in the US to completely ban this application. Under the ban, TikTok will not be able to operate within the territory of the state of Montana, which has a population of just over 1 million people.
The platform will be fined $10,000 for each violation if users are able to access/have the ability to access or download TikTok, and may be fined an additional $10,000 per day for non-compliance.
In addition, the Google Play app stores and App Store offering TikTok within the state of Montana are also considered illegal. Apple and Google will have to remove TikTok from the app stores, or else they will have to pay a fine of 10,000 USD per day for each violation. However, these penalties will not apply to individuals using TikTok.
In late December 2022, Governor Greg Gianforte banned the use of the TikTok app on all state government devices, citing that TikTok poses a “significant risk” to sensitive state data. There are now more than half of the states in the US and the federal government has introduced a similar ban on Montana.
TikTok, owned by Chinese tech company ByteDance, is facing growing calls for a boycott from lawmakers and state officials, banning the app’s use across the country due to concerns about it control user data as well as the power of TikTok’s algorithm to spread malicious information. The platform now has more than 150 million users in the US, becoming very popular with teenagers.
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