Montana lawmakers are expected to grant final approval for a bill that would completely ban TikTok from operating in the state.
The proposal, which goes much further than other device bans enacted by many U.S. states and the federal government, is expected to face legal challenges if approved.
- The
legislation would prohibit anyone from downloading TikTok in Montana.
Entities, such as app stores, would face a fine of up to $10,000 a day
for each time a user is given the option to download the app.
- Montana's
House endorsed the bill in a 60-39 vote on Thursday. A final House vote
is scheduled for later today before the bill is sent to Republican Gov.
Greg Gianforte.
- A spokesperson for the governor said he would “carefully consider any bill the Legislature sends to his desk."
- Like other state governors, Gianforte already banned TikTok on state-issued devices and equipment back in December.
- TikTok is owned by Chinese tech giant ByteDance, which is under scrutiny due to concerns that it's sharing TikTok U.S. user data with Beijing and other issues.
- Proponents
of Montana's bill noted that China has rules that force companies to
aid the government in state intelligence operations.
