Le gouverneur du Montana signe l’interdiction totale de TikTok dans l’État.

Montana Governor Signs Bill to Ban TikTok

Montana Governor Greg Gianforte has signed a bill to ban TikTok from operating within the state, making it the most extreme prohibition of the app in the United States. The ban will take effect on January 1, 2022. The legislation prohibits mobile app stores, like those run by Apple and Google, from offering TikTok within the state. TikTok, which says it has 7,000 employees in the United States, has been fighting back in the state for months. It has run ads featuring Montana small businesses that use TikTok and given prewritten emails to users so they could contact Mr. Gianforte about opposing the bill.

Concerns Over Chinese Ownership of TikTok

The ban on TikTok in Montana is based on concerns about the company’s ownership by the Chinese company ByteDance. Lawmakers and intelligence officials have said TikTok, because of its ownership, could put sensitive user data into the hands of the Chinese government, pointing to laws that allow Beijing to secretly demand data from Chinese companies and citizens for intelligence gathering. They have also expressed concern that the app, which is especially popular with teenagers and people in their 20s, could be used to spread propaganda. Congress grilled Shou Chew, TikTok’s chief executive, for roughly five hours at a March hearing that focused largely on the app’s Chinese ownership.

Free Speech Groups Respond to Montana Ban

Free speech groups were quick to respond to the Montana ban. The American Civil Liberties Union said on Wednesday that the legislation « flouts the First Amendment. » « The government cannot impose a total ban on a communications platform like TikTok unless it is necessary to prevent extremely serious, immediate harm to national security, » the group said in a statement. « But there’s no public evidence of harm that would meet the high bar set by the U.S. and Montana Constitutions, and a total ban would not be the only option for addressing such harm if it did exist. » The Montana bill says the ban will be void if TikTok is acquired by, or sold to, a company that is not incorporated in a country « designated as a foreign adversary. »

Keywords: TikTok, Montana, ban, Chinese ownership, ByteDance, propaganda, free speech, American Civil Liberties Union.