On Friday, Montana became the first state in America to pass a full ban of the video sharing social media site TikTok. If signed into law, the ban would take effect in January 2024, barring any legal challenges.
“The governor will carefully consider any bill the legislature sends to his desk. We will keep you apprised of the bill’s status once the governor acts on it,” representatives for Republican Gov Greg Gianforte told CBS.
TikTok is already banned on Montana government devices.
In March, TikTok hired Disney’s former head of corporate communications, Zenia Mucha, as an adviser as the company faces a possible national ban. She joined former Barack Obama aides David Plouffe and Jim Messina, who have also been hired to fight the possible ban.
American lawmakers have expressed growing concern about the company’s access to user data and how that information could be used against American individuals or institutions. That’s primarily because the company’s parent company, ByteDance, has official representatives of the Chinese government on its board.
The Biden administration and members of Congress, alongside regulators, have suggested banning TikTok outright or forcing ByteDance to sell it. As with Montana, TikTok is banned on federal government devices.