But can a democratic state really ban TikTok?

Montana has become the first US state to ban the use of the Chinese app TikTok on a large scale. Republic Governor Greg Gianforte signed into law a law banning the use of TikTok on all devices from 2024. social network that has caused worldwide concerns as it poses a threat to national security.

“A spy bubble on your phone”: why TikTok is scary

What does the new law bring?

The ban allows all app stores to block app downloads from next year, with a $10,000 fine for every day the platform is active. This means that Apple and Google, which operate app stores on Apple and Android devices, will be liable for any violations. However, penalties will not apply to users. The statewide ban won’t go into effect until January 2024, but will become void if the social media platform is sold by the federal government to a company that isn’t in “any foreign-designated country.” The Republican governor appears intent on expanding the bill to include other social media apps that feed data to foreign states. Thus, Chinese WeChat, the messaging application used by a billion people around the world, may also be the target.

Another Chinese app can spy on user data

Skepticism about the new norm

It’s a drastic ban that is doomed to face various legal hurdles before the rule goes into effect. The law, signed by the Republican governor, risks violating the first amendment to the American Constitution, which guarantees freedom of thought and speech. The position supported by TikTok spokesperson Brooke Oberwetter, the American Civil Liberties Union of Montana (Aclu) and NetChoice, a trade association that counts Google and TikTok among its members, which defined the law as unconstitutional. According to company spokesperson Jamal Brown, the state measure will affect at least 200,000 TikTok users and 6,000 Montana businesses using the video sharing platform. It is also a big blow for local companies, which are thus deprived of a useful showcase to introduce themselves to the public.

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But Montana lawmakers are going straight. After banning the app from being used by government officials, the law initiators say the Chinese government could collect US users’ data from TikTok and use the platform to spread disinformation or pro-Beijing messages. A thesis put forward by bipartisan lawmakers in the Senate and the heads of the FBI and CIA is convinced that TikTok poses a risk to national security. Even the White House is in the same position, so much so that it publicly declares that it fears Beijing could use the platform to access its data, not just private citizens, but American institutions. In March, Shou Zi Chew, CEO of TikTok, was invited to speak before the US Congress, where he reiterated that the app, owned by Chinese giant ByteDance, has never received a request from Beijing to hand over user data, and it never will. in case of a request.

Last January, Joe Biden signed a law in the US Congress banning its use by American officials on all of his devices. A measure adopted by the European Commission and Council, but also by the governments of Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Great Britain and France.

The French government has also banned TikTok for civil servants

New conflict and first cases

Montana’s new law could pave the way for a nationwide ban in the United States, where only House of Representatives officials are currently asked to remove the app from their smartphones. It didn’t take long for Montana users to respond. Five tiktokers from Montana have sued the US government against the platform ban.

The complaint, filed with the U.S. District Court for the District of Montana – just hours after the governor signed it – compares TikTok to other forms of media and argues that the state has no power to block access to Montana citizens. “Montana cannot further prohibit its residents from viewing or posting on TikTok because it owns or publishes ideas from The Wall Street Journal,” the legal documents state.

Five plaintiffs, Samantha Alario, Heather DiRocco, Alice Held, Carly Ann Goddard, and Dale Scout, are suing state attorney general Austin Knudsen, alleging that the ban is unconstitutional and violates the first amendment: word and pressure, which guarantees freedom of thought. This is an open war between a tiktoker and the governor of the state of Montana where you can buy a gun without checking the owner’s background, walk around with an unauthorized gun, and continue to own it even after committing a crime. But from January 2024, downloading TikTok will be banned.

Source: Today IT

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