Montana Gov. Greg Gianfote has signed a bill banning TikTok from operating in the state, a move that is expected to lead to free speech challenges in court.
The law makes Montana the first state to fully ban the app.
It is now against the law to download the app in the state, but users won’t be penalized. App stores like those run by Apple or Google, or any other platform that offers apps for download, will face fines of $10,000 per day if they make TikTok available for download.
Montana first barred the app from government devices last year. The newly signed bill will expand the ban from solely TikTok to “all social media applications that collect and provide personal information or data to foreign adversaries on government-issued devices, while connected to the state network, or for state business in Montana,” starting on June 1.
“Foreign adversaries collection and use of Montanans personal information and data from social media applications infringe on Montanans constitutionally guaranteed individual right to privacy,” Gov. Gianforte said in a statement.
TikTok says it plans to fight the new law. The ACLU of Montana has argued that the ban places unconstitutional restrictions on free speech.
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