Montana Will Become A State That Bans Citizens From Using TikTok

Tiktok will be banned from using residents in Montana. (Doc. TikTok)

JAKARTA - Montana is ready to become the first state to completely ban the use of TikTok on private devices.

The prohibition rule is based on the Draft Law (RUU) issued by the House of Representatives (DPR) yesterday, requiring app stores to block applications in the United States (US) state and prohibiting its citizens from downloading.

Members of the House in Montana House voted 54-43 to pass the bill, known as SB419.

The bill contains a ban on TikTok downloads in Montana and will fine any entity, a 10,000-dollar app or TikTok per day.

The fine is intended every time someone is offered the ability to access social media platforms or download the application. Punishment will not apply to users.

Now, the bill is passed on to Republican Governor Greg Gianforte, who previously banned applications from this Chinese state-owned device in March.

If Gianforte signs the bill, it will take effect in January 2024, although long before that it could quickly face significant legal challenges.

"We will continue to fight for TikTok users and creators in Montana whose livelihoods and First Amendment rights are threatened by this horrific government crackdown," said TikTok spokesman Brooke Oberwetter, as quoted by NYPost, Saturday, April 15.

"(The bill's supporters) have acknowledged they do not have a proper plan to operate efforts to censor Americans' votes and that the constitutionality of the bill will be decided by the court," he added.

TikTok, which is owned by China-based ByteDance, has come under intense scrutiny over concerns of being able to submit user data to the country's government or encourage pro-Beijing propaganda and misinformation on the platform.

Leaders at the FBI, CIA, and US House of Representatives have raised concerns, but have yet to provide any evidence to state TikTok did so.

TikTok has long denied this claim, and has committed more than a billion dollars to the Texas Project, a project meant to address national security concerns. The US government is also trying to force ByteDance to completely break away from TikTok.