Montana Becomes First State To Ban TikTok

TikTok
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TikTok users, look away…

Those who love the popular social media app have been on edge for quite some time as the app has been under for fire for potentially causing a national security crisis.

The Biden administration went as far to say that the Chinese owned app needs to be sold, otherwise it will face a nationwide ban.

Many have shot down the possibility of the video-sharing app actually being restricted, referencing the time in 2020 when the Trump administration tried to do the same before U.S. courts blocked the ban.

However, Montana made a very aggressive move towards the feared TikTok ban today. CNN reports that:

“Montana became the first US state on Friday to pass legislation banning TikTok on all personal devices, sending a bill to Governor Greg Gianforte prohibiting TikTok from operating within state lines and barring app stores from offering TikTok for downloads.”

*sadly TikTok dances after hearing the news*

Republican Governor Greg Gianforte would still have to sign the bill for it to be entered into law, but considering the bill was pushed through by the GOP controlled Montana House of Representatives, it is likely he would sign off on it.

The move is the first to be seen in a nation where many have thought that a nationwide ban could occur or might even be inevitable. Especially after Congress spent hours grilling TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew about the security issues surrounding the app back in March.

Many members of Congress went viral for asking questions about the app that social media users accused the politicians of not even understanding themselves (remember, lot of old people on Capitol Hill).

Chew did his best to convince congressmen and congresswomen that the app was not stealing U.S. data, but his testimony didn’t seem to be effective in changing their minds.

There is some concern as to how a ban of the app would even be feasible, and some are saying that restricting the app would be fundamentally censoring voices of users.

Brooke Oberwetter, a spokesperson for TikTok, told NPR regarding the matter:

“We will continue to fight for TikTok users and creators in Montana whose livelihoods and First Amendment rights are threatened by this egregious government overreach.”

And as to how the bill itself would work, NPR added that:

“The bill makes it illegal to download TikTok in the state, with penalties of up to $10,000 a day for any entity, such as Apple and Google’s app stores or TikTok itself, that makes the popular video-streaming app available.”

Seems like a pretty steep fine to pay for watching cute animal videos and learning dumb, repetitive TikTok dances. However, I’m sure those that can’t put down the addictive, endless-scrolling video app might very well be willing to shell out thousands of dollars.

With all this in mind, seems like it would be a great time to bring back the cult-classic app Vine…

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