HELENA — Montana has become the first state to sign into law legislation banning Tiktok from operating within their borders, with Republican Gov. Greg Gianforte signing Senate Bill 419 into law on Wednesday. The ban goes into effect on January 1, 2024.
In a press release, Gianforte said he signed the bill to “protect Montanas’ person, private, and sensitive data” from being gathered by China.
Once the law goes into effect, the Montana Department of Justice will be able to fine app stores or ByteDance — TikTok’s parent company — $10,000 for each discrete violation and $10,000 for each day that a violation continues.
The law only impacts the distribution of the app, it does not have any penalties for TikTok users.
Imho, this law won't withstand a constitutional challenge. It seems to be a clear violation of First Amendment rights.
