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The
bill, known as SB 419, would prohibit mobile app stores from
offering TikTok for download to users in Montana. The Montana
House voted 54-43 to approve the ban.
TikTok as well as Apple and Google, which operate mobile app
stores, would face fines if they violate the ban, should the
bill become law.
It is not clear how the state would enforce the ban.
The bill now heads to Montana Governor Greg Gianforte for
signing.
"The governor will carefully consider any bill the legislature
sends to his desk,” said a spokesperson for the Montana
governor’s office.
TikTok said in a statement: "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."
TikTok, which is owned by Chinese tech company ByteDance, is
facing growing calls from some U.S. lawmakers to ban the app
nationwide over concerns about potential Chinese government
influence over the platform.
Last month, a congressional committee grilled TikTok Chief
Executive Shou Zi Chew about whether the Chinese government
could access user data or influence what Americans see on the
app.
TikTok has repeatedly denied that it has ever shared data with
the Chinese government and has said the company would not do so
if asked.
The company is working on an initiative called Project Texas,
which creates a standalone entity to store American user data in
the U.S. on servers operated by U.S. tech company Oracle.
(Reporting by Sheila Dang in Dallas; Editing by Christian
Schmollinger)
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