TikTok logo. (MARTIN BUREAU/AFP via Getty Images)HELENA, Mont. - Montana became the first state in the U.S.
to completely ban TikTok on Wednesday when the state's Republican governor signed a measure that's more sweeping than any other state's attempts to curtail the social media app.The measure is expected to be challenged legally and will serve as a testing ground for the TikTok-free America that many national lawmakers have envisioned.Some lawmakers, the FBI and officials at other agencies are concerned the video-sharing app, owned by the Chinese tech company ByteDance, could be used to allow the Chinese government to access information on American citizens or push pro-Beijing misinformation that could influence the public.
TikTok says none of this has ever happened.Tik Tok is a short-form video app that allows users to create and share fun content with added filters, music, animation and more.When Montana banned the app on government-owned devices in late December, Gov.
Greg Gianforte said TikTok posed a "significant risk" to sensitive state data. More than half of U.S. states and the federal government have a similar ban.Gianforte signed the legislation after it easily passed through Montana's GOP-controlled Legislature.Montana's new law prohibits downloads of TikTok in the state and would fine any "entity" — an app store or TikTok — $10,000 per day for each time someone "is offered the ability" to access the social media platform or download the app.