Last Wednesday, May 17, 2023, the state of Montana in the United States banned the use of TikTok. It is the first state to try to block access to a social network created in China.
The bill against TikTok approved by Governor Greg Gianforte may have protesters who allege it violates their right to express themselves. Mr. Gianforte explained that the purpose of the measure is to take care of the personal information of the Montana population.
An order was passed last month, making it impossible for business centers to offer the TikTok application. With this law, the company is not allowed to offer its services in Montana.
Other Apps That Are Restricted
TikTok spokeswoman Brooke Oberwetter said the company will continue to focus on benefiting Montana customers and employees. Ms. Oberwatter said the abuse of power by the state government was an attack on the First Amendment to the country’s constitution. This amendment, which came into force on December 15, 1791, struck down all laws violating the free exercise of human expression.
Americans living in Montana may face stiff fines for breaking the law up to $10,000.00 USD. The state Justice Department warned that the decision would begin to take effect on June 1.
Governor Gianforte has directed the CIO of Montana to stop applications providing data to foreign enemies. Digital tools belonging to adversaries from other countries include CapCut, Lemon8 and TikTok.
All these three virtual networks belong to the Chinese company ByteDance. Other brands monitored from the Asian country are Teemu and WeChat, which are part of the Pinduoduo and Tencent platforms. Completes the list, Telegram messenger which was created in Russia.
