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[Editor's note: This article has been updated to better reflect the origins of Telegram messenger.]

Montana is now the first state in the U.S. to enact a ban on Chinese-owned app TikTok, Reuters reported.

On May 18 (Singapore time), the state’s governor Greg Gianforte signed a bill to ban the app in a bid to safeguard his residents' "personal and private data."

To protect Montanans’ personal and private data from the Chinese Communist Party, I have banned TikTok in Montana.

— Governor Greg Gianforte (@GovGianforte) May 17, 2023

The “decisive action “ was taken to “to protect Montanans’ private data and sensitive personal information from being harvested by the Chinese Communist Party,” Gianforte said, according to a statement cited by Associated Press (AP).

In December 2022, the state had already banned the use and downloading of TikTok on government-owned devices.

The ban

The statewide ban will kick in on Jan. 1, 2024 and will prohibit the downloading of the app from Google and Apple app stores.

However, it will not penalise the use of the app.

If found violating the ban, the app stores and TikTok could be fined US$10,000 (S$13,400) for each violation per day, according to Financial Times (FT).

In addition, Gianforte signed another measure to ban apps “that [provide] personal information or data to foreign adversaries from the state network.”

TikTok is just one app tied to foreign adversaries. Today I directed the state’s Chief Information Officer to ban any application that provides personal information or data to foreign adversaries from the state network. pic.twitter.com/92Im6D9Jgx

— Governor Greg Gianforte (@GovGianforte) May 17, 2023

This includes CapCut and Lemon8 whose parent company is China-based ByteDance, as well as Telegram Messenger, among others.

While Gianforte claimed that Telegram is "founded in Russia", the messenger app was actually founded by the Russian-born Durov brothers, with the team working in Berlin, Germany and registered in the British Virgin Islands at launch.

Responses to ban

TikTok said that the bill “infringes on the First Amendment rights of the people of Montana,” according to a statement quoted by FT.

It added that it would continue defending the rights of its users “inside and outside of Montana”.

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) also criticised the bill, noting that it was “unconstitutional”, according to Reuters.

The general counsel from Netchoice, a technology trade coalition, said that the law “ignored the U.S. constitution, due process and free speech by denying access to a website and apps their citizens want to use,” CNN reported.

TikTok in the spotlight

Montana’s decision to ban TikTok comes at a time when the app faces increasing scrutiny for its alleged connection to the Chinese government.

The U.S. federal government and several states have already banned the app on government devices, The Guardian reported.

In March 2023, the Biden Administration demanded TikTok's China owners to sell their stakes in the social media platform or face a potential nation-wide ban.

In the same month, TikTok’s Singaporean CEO Chew Shou Zi testified in congress and repeatedly denied that the app shared U.S. user data to China or had ties with the Chinese government.

He stressed TikTok’s independence and reiterated that the app would continue to prioritise safety, particularly for its young users.

TikTok has since updated its community guidelines. It has also been pursuing a US$1.5 billion (S$2 billion) data security programme named “Project Texas” to counter any ban and remain operational in the U.S.

The Montana ban faces potential legal challenges, but will act as a litmus test for the feasibility of a nationwide prohibition which many U.S. lawmakers have been calling for, according to The Guardian.

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Top image via Unsplash/May Gauthier & Twitter/@GovGianforte