Montana has become the first US state to ban Chinese social media app TikTok.
The law is to be implemented in early 2024. More and more American politicians are participating in the debate on the security problems that TikTok is causing in the United States, write The temperature.
It would raise the possibility of a possible US-wide ban, which some politicians in Washington DC have been calling for as tensions with Beijing rise.
Republican Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte said the legislation underscores the state’s “priority of protecting the people of Montana from the surveillance of the Chinese Communist Party.”
Apple and Google will be forced to remove the ability to download the TikTok app, and if they don’t follow the law, they risk daily fines of $10,000.
The bill will likely be challenged in court.
TikTok said the courts will decide whether the legislation is constitutional.
Others react by saying that it is a new attack on freedom of expression. In April, the Times wrote that many Democrats believed TikTok was a good tool to reach young voters, and that abortion supporters and climate activists have used TikTok to broadcast news and films about the protests.
The TikTok app is already banned on phones and other computing devices in the United States, Canada and several European countries. At home, our Minister of Justice Emilie Enger Mehl provoked reactions when she first used TikTok, and was reluctant to comment on it.
Justice Minister Mehl had TikTok on his office phone
European Commissioner Thierry Breton has also threatened to ban Twitter and TikTok in the Union, because he believes these media can be used for political manipulation. Many see TikTok as a pure spy tool for China.
Some US politicians accuse TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, of being a spy tool for Beijing. ByteDance categorically denies the claim.
Others reacted to how different TikTok looks in China compared to the United States. In China, talented students and sound morals suitable for the Chinese Communist Party are promoted. TikTok in the US is awash with LGBTQ ideology and sheer nonsense.
According to The Times, it is almost impossible to implement this bill effectively, since one circumvents the law by using a VPN.
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