TikTok app banned in the state of Montana

The state of Montana in the US has prohibited mobile app stores from offering TikTok and the legislation will be formalised by next year.

TikTok is owned by ByteDance which is a Chinese tech company.

There are concerns about a national security threat due to the app’s links to China. The ban comes as the federal government, and more than half of US states have banned government employees to have Tick-Tok on their devices.

The app is threatened with a global ban by the Biden administration unless its parent company sells its shares.

Meanwhile, Tik Tok has denied that it has ever shared data with the Chinese government and said that it would not share information even if they were asked.

A spokesperson for TikTok said the ban in Montana was an infringement of the first amendment rights of the people of Montana and that the ban was unlawful. They confirmed that they intended to fight the ban for their users in and out of Montana.

The new law in Montana which will take effect on 1 January says any entity offering Tik Tok will be fined $10,000 per day. An entity means TikTok or the app stores and not users themselves.

TikTok will launch a legal challenge against the ban and other internet freedom groups have said that the US ban amounts to censorship which is against free speech.