Montana becomes the first US state to completely ban TikTok for all citizens

If you live in the US state of Montana and love TikTok then we have some bad news for you.

The Treasure State has become the first in America to outright ban TikTok for everyone.

Republican Govenor Greg Gianforte has signed a measure that was approved earlier this year and it will officially come into effect at the beginning on 2024.

He said: "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."

The kickoff date for the new ban could be pushed back if there are any legal challenges to measure.

Under the rule, TikTok won't be able to operate in the state and app stores would be forbidden from allowing smartphone users to download it.

App stores will be fined up to $10,000 a day if they break the law, however individual TikTok users won't be punished.

The Wall Street Journal says it's unclear how the ban will actually work.

Once it kicks in on January 1, no one knows if it's only new users who will be banned from the app or if it will apply to everyone.

The news outlet also said the state didn't elaborate on any plans to stop people from using VPNs to access TikTok.

Shelley Vance, a Republican Senator who sponsored the legislation, said the onus would be on TikTok to adhere to the rule.

TikTok has released a statement in the wake of Governor Gianforte signing the bill.

Company spokesperson Brooke Oberwetter said this law infringes on people's First Amendment right.

“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,” she said.

But Montana's vendetta might not just be restricted to TikTok.

The Governor said he's asking staff to look into how they could ban 'all social-media applications tied to foreign adversaries on state equipment and for state business in Montana', according to The Wall Street Journal.

Gianforte highlighted apps like Telegram, which was founded in Russia, and WeChat, which has headquarters in China.

TikTok has already been banned in the state of Montana for all government-owned devices.

Topics: TikTok, Social Media

Stewart Perrie

Stewart Perrie is a Senior Journalist at LADbible. Stewart has covered the conflict in Syria for LADbible, interviewing a doctor on the front line, and has contributed to the hugely successful UOKM8 campaign. He is in charge of the LADbible Australia editorial content and social presence.

@stewartperrie