The state of Montana has become the first in the US to take effective action against the social media app TikTok. Recently, there has been a debate over the security concerns of TikTok, as it is owned by a Chinese technology company titled ByteDance. However, the company has stated that it does not share any data with the Government of China. This did not stop some federal lawmakers from calling for a nationwide ban on the use of TikTok.
In Montana, lawmakers voted 54-43 in the House, receiving final approval on the bill. However, one more step is needed for the bill to finally become legislation. Governor Greg Gianforte still needs to sign the bill. If signed, the bill will take effect in January 2024.
The bill aims to effectively ban TikTok from operating within the state of Montana and to prohibit app stores from offering downloads for the app. It primarily targets TikTok itself, with penalties for violating the law ranging up to $10,000 per violation per day directed towards the social media platform. In contrast, potential users of TikTok in Montana will not face any penalties.
The likely outcome of this bill is that Gov. Gianforte will sign it, as he had banned the use of TikTok from all state government devices in the past. However, TikTok is not going down lightly, with a legal fight expected. A spokesperson for the social media giant, Brooke Oberwetter, publicly stated, "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." This highlights the possibility of a federal court challenge from TikTok, should the bill be approved by the governor.
The Montana Government's move to ban TikTok is being viewed by many as a huge overstep, given that the app is already banned on all government devices in the state. This essentially eliminates the threat of China obtaining anything important to the state. Many people view the Montana Government's ban on TikTok as a threat to free speech and believe that the fear of China spying on our data is mostly fear-mongering, given the recent congressional hearing into the matter.
Lastly, while a nationwide ban on TikTok failed to materialize, Montana has made significant progress towards effectively banning the app within its borders. It remains to be seen whether other states will follow Montana's lead and take action against TikTok.
Sources:
https://apnews.com/article/tiktok-bytedance-shou-zi-chew-8d8a6a9694357040d484670b7f4833be
https://www.npr.org/2023/04/14/1170204627/montana-becomes-1st-state-to-approve-a-full-ban-of-tiktok
https://www.cnn.com/2023/04/14/tech/montana-house-tiktok-ban/index.html
9 comments:
I think the whole concept of an app being banned is pretty foreign to me personally. I feel like it would be almost pointless cause it seems possibly hard to regulate and enforce. it is also such a huge infringement upon free speech and citizens personal autonomy. I think even if it is passed and used I think it would get overturned rather fast. this doesn't seem like a law that the public at large would be thrilled about therefore I can't see it sticking around. I think this type of legislation is really interesting from a policy stand point of how do you enforce laws in regards to internet and media bans. especially when it is available in other states. I am curious to see where this law will go.
The whole idea that tiktok should be banned is pointless. I mean other social media giants such as meta and snapchat use data just like tiktok and we don't know if they could be using that data for good or bad. If there needs to be a ban of the app, than a lot of other apps that are operated by different countries should also be banned. I am a bit worried that this ban will influence other states and eventually shut down tiktok as a whole. I know many people that use this app and for the past few years, there hasn't been any serious issues with the app itself.
The last time I heard people wanting to ban Tik Tok was during Trump's presidency. It is wildly absurd to ban a whole app based on rumors saying that it steals data from its users in such a democratic country. And like Josh said, there are other apps today that are all under the suspicion that they pry over users' personal information; however, they weren't being strictly banned by law. Furthermore, the difference between Tik Tok and the ones being mentioned is the origin of them. Snapchats, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, etc are all softwares developed in the United States with profits generating for the States. On the contrary, Tik Tok is not. The company itself is founded by a Chinese and now growing its industry in other East Asian countries more profoundly. It is possible that one of the America's concern is that the app surfacing the younger generations' phones isn't something the U.S can profit off from in an economic perspective.
In a democratic society like the US, citizens have the freedom to express themselves, which includes the use of social media platforms such as TikTok. As long as the content being shared on the platform is not violating any laws, it should be allowed for users to choose what apps they use. Furthermore, banning a particular app based on its origin or ownership can be seen as discriminatory and unjustified. As mentioned in previous comments, other apps such as Instagram and Facebook, which are also owned by foreign companies, are allowed to operate in the US without any restrictions. Therefore, it would be unfair to single out TikTok for a ban. Banning TikTok could have negative consequences for the US economy and job market. TikTok has become a popular platform for creators, influencers, and small businesses to market and sell their products. Banning the app could lead to a loss of revenue for these individuals and businesses and ultimately hurt the US economy and violate individual freedoms.
I think that it will be extremely difficult to completely and successfully ban TikTok. Their reasoning is that they have a suspicion of TikTok sharing data with the Chinese government. Without very concrete evidence, I think there will still be much opposition to this legislation. Many view TikTok and other social media as an extension of Free Speech. Also, the younger generations will be in heavy opposition. Banning TikTok seems a little rash at this point.
Companies like Facebook and Instagram have been exposed for selling user data before, yet these companies have not faced potential bans, what makes TikTok different, it is because it is a Chinese company. China doesn't need to create its own social media company to farm American data, it can easily buy it from data brokers from Facebook or Instagram. For the government to ban an app under a suspicion of them selling data is an example of government overreach, since there's no actual proof and prevents an international company from conducting its business freely.
I agree with what Nick said about banning tiktok going against freedom of speech and also jeopardizing the economy by destroying jobs. What's interesting is that when private companies such as Facebook try to limit content or what is said, there is often outcry that these companies are infringing on 1st amendment rights. However, that isn't valid as these private companies, despite their size, can do whatever they want with regard to the content that is allowed. However in this case this is the government trying to limit the use of a site that one can argue represents freedom of speech. Regardless of whether someone believes that tiktok is bad or not, I don't think it's the government's job to limit speech in this case.
Without concrete evidence, banning TikTok is tricky. However, I am all in favor of taking every possible step to get that evidence. And, if TikTok refuses to give any information that lawmakers ask for, then I think it is totally reasonable to ban it. China has a long reputation of digital/cyber crimes and privacy violations. With TikTok's skyrocketing popularity in America, I wouldn't put it past China to try and peek at our info.
People spend too much time on TikTok anyways. If TikTok was banned nationwide, I wouldn't complain.
There should not be such a huge controversy over this topic. If there is even a chance that Tik Tok is stealing the data of Americans and giving its access to China, then it should be banned. The differences between Tik Tok and Instagram and Snapchat is that these other social media companies are based in the United States and get regulated by our government. Tik Tok gets monitored by the Chinese government with full portraits of every young American as well as their personal data. If getting rid of this app is that big of a deal for teens of America then we can just create another app basically the same but headquartered and run in the United States.
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