Montana on Wednesday became the first US state to ban TikTok, with the law set to take effect next year as the debate escalates over the impact and security of the popular video app.
“TikTok may not operate within the territorial jurisdiction of Montana,” said a copy of the freshly-minted law on the state website.
Montana Governor Greg Gianforte said, “Today, Montana takes the most decisive action of any state to protect Montanan’s private data and sensitive personal information from being harvested by the Chinese communist party”.
Governor tweeted about this update from his Twitter handle.
TikTok said in a statement that it was used by “hundreds of thousands of people” in Montana.
TikTok added, “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,”.
TikTok says it has 150m American users. Although the app’s user base has expanded in recent years, it is still most popular with teenagers and users in their 20s.
India banned Tiktok in 2020 along with many other Chinese apps after the clash at LAC.
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