Montana Governor Greg Gianforte has signed legislation that bans Chinese-owned social media app TikTok from operating in the western U.S. state.
Gianforte said the state-wide ban aims to protect residents from alleged intelligence gathering by the Chinese government, making it the first U.S. state to ban the popular short form video app.
Montana’s new legislation also makes it unlawful for Google (GOOGL) and Apple’s (AAPL) app stores to offer TikTok within the state.
However, Montana’s state government said it will not impose any penalties on individuals using the TikTok. The ban goes into effect on January 1, 2024, and is likely to face legal challenges.
TikTok, which is owned by privately held Chinese technology company ByteDance, issued a written statement saying that the new law “infringes on the First Amendment rights of the people of Montana.”
TikTok has over 150 million users across the U.S. but has faced growing calls from lawmakers and state officials to ban the app nationwide over concerns about potential Chinese government influence on the platform.
The app is particularly popular with teenagers. According to the Pew Research Center, 67% of U.S. teens age 13 to 17 use TikTok, and 16% of all teens say they use the app constantly.
Calls to ban TikTok nationwide or give the Biden administration powers to ban the app have not moved forward in the U.S. Congress.
Montana, which has a population of about one million people, said TikTok could face fines for each violation and additional fines of $10,000 U.S. per day if it ignores the state’s ban.
TikTok says it is working on an initiative called “Project Texas” that will create a standalone entity to store American user data within the U.S. on servers operated by U.S. tech company Oracle (ORCL).
