Montana becomes first state to pass bill completely banning TikTok [View all]

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Last edited Fri Apr 14, 2023, 07:27 PM - Edit history (1)

Source: CBS News

Montana became the first state in the nation Friday to pass a bill banning TikTok from operating in the state, a move that's bound to face legal challenges but also serve as a testing ground for the TikTok-free America that many national lawmakers have envisioned. The Montana House voted 54-43 to send the bill to Republican Gov. Greg Gianforte for his signature.

"The governor will carefully consider any bill the legislature sends to his desk," the governor's office told CBS News in a statement. "We will keep you apprised of the bill's status once the governor acts on it." Gianforte has already banned TikTok on government devices in Montana. The Senate passed the bill 30-20 in March.

The proposal backed by Montana's GOP-controlled legislature is more sweeping than bans in place in nearly half the states and the federal government, which prohibit TikTok on government devices.

In response to the bill's passage, a TikTok spokesperson said in a statement to CBS News on Friday afternoon, "The bill's champions have admitted that they have no feasible plan for operationalizing this attempt to censor American voices and that the bill's constitutionality will be decided by the courts. 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."

Read more: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/montana-tiktok-ban/

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Article updated.

Original article -

Montana became the first state in the nation Friday to pass a bill banning TikTok from operating in the state, a move that's bound to face legal challenges but also serve as a testing ground for the TikTok-free America that many national lawmakers have envisioned.

The Montana House voted 54-43 to send the bill to Republican Gov. Greg Gianforte for his signature. CBS News has reached out to the governor's office for comment. Gianforte has already banned TikTok on government devices in Montana. The Senate passed the bill 30-20 in March.

Montana's proposal, which has backing from the state's GOP-controlled legislature, is more sweeping than bans in place in nearly half the states and the federal government, which prohibit TikTok on government devices.

TikTok, which is owned by the Chinese tech company ByteDance, has been under intense scrutiny over concerns it could hand over user data to the Chinese government or push pro-Beijing propaganda and misinformation on the platform. Leaders at the FBI, CIA and numerous lawmakers of both parties have raised those concerns but haven't presented any evidence to prove it has happened.