” To protect the personal and private information of Chinese Communist Party users, I banned TikTok in Montana. »

TikTok is owned by Chinese group ByteDance, and several elected officials in the United States believe the video application used by 150 million Americans allows Beijing to spy on and manipulate internet users. The leaders of the platform have always denied this.

The Montana legislature passed a bill in mid-April directing the mobile app stores App Store and Google Play Store to stop selling TikTok effective January 1, 2024. The companies involved face fines of US$10,000 (CAD$13,500) per day for each violation.

An attack on freedom of expression?

” [Cette loi] violates the rights of Montana citizens [en matière de liberté d’expression]. »

The constitutionality of this text will be decided in court. We will continue to fight for the users and developers of TikTok in Montanasaid a TikTok spokeswoman ahead of the vote.

In addition to the problems of data and misinformation, parliamentarians also blame TikTok for adverse health effects on younger people, such as addiction and depression. Democratic officials have countered that other social networks like Instagram deserve regulation on all of these issues.

The powerful civil rights association ACLU also accused the state of censorship.

” With this ban, Governor Gianforte and the Montana Legislature are trampling on the freedom of speech of the hundreds of thousands of Montana citizens who use this app to speak out, find information, and promote their small business. Name of anti-Chinese mood. »

conditions of stay

The law would be void if TikTok were acquired by an American company (or a country allied with the United States).

The White House has encouraged TikTok to seek such a solution if it wants to stay in the country.

Joe Biden’s administration is discussing several bills with Congress aimed at banning the use, while the decrees already issued by his predecessor Donald Trump in this direction have failed.