Montana becomes first US state to ban TikTok

Governor Greg Gianforte signed into law the new law banning Google and Apple app stores from offering TikTok. Citizens who use TikTok are not punished. The law is due to come into force on January 1, 2024, but legal hurdles will likely need to be overcome by then. For example, lawsuits against the ban based on the right to free speech are expected.

In several Western countries, the application of the Chinese technology company ByteDance has already been banned for government employees. The app has over a billion users worldwide and is widely used in the United States and Europe. There are concerns that Chinese authorities and secret services may use the app to collect information from users or to influence users. The company denied those claims.

Dutch ban

In March, Amsterdam officials were banned from using TikTok on work phones. Councilor Touria Meliani (ICT) asked officials to remove the app from work phones and private devices with access to work data as soon as possible.

The use of TikTok is also discouraged domestically. Secretary of State Alexandra van Huffelen called on government officials to remove the app from their work phones and the VVD also deleted her account.