Governor of Montana Greg Gianforte signed a measure on Wednesday that entirely bans TikTok in the state. The ban is slated to take effect January 1, 2024. Gianforte has also prohibited the use of any social media platform with ties to a foreign adversary (as defined in the law) from being used on any state devices or for state business, including WeChat, and Telegram Messenger.
The new law forbids any entity (i.e. an app store or TikTok) from allowing the app to be downloaded. The fine for a violation is $10,000 per day that a consumer is "offered the ability" to access TikTok or download the app. The fines do not apply to users.
Opponents of the ban regard this as government overreach and say Montana residents could easily get around this measure by using a virtual private network (VPN), that encrypts and re-routes data so the users' browsing activity can't be tracked. TikTok and many small businesses say they will fight back against this ban, and the first of what is likely to be many lawsuits have already been filed.
Montana officials say geofencing can be used to block the app, however, app stores don't have the ability to use this technology to "geofence" apps in one particular state. Cybersecurity experts say that the ban will be difficult to enforce, and some say it should be up to the app and not the app store to determine where it can operate.
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