Montana has become the first state to enact a complete ban on TikTok. Republican Gov. Greg Gianforte signed the legislation Wednesday and it is scheduled to take effect next January.

Helena

U.S Congress is debating a total ban of the popular social media app TikTok amid suspected links to China.

TikTok Ban

TikTok ban angers users, 'violates rights'

Well, on Wednesday, Montana became the first state in the country to ban political social media app, I should say, TikTok. Now, our senior reporter, Michelle Castillo, is here to explain what this all means for the residents and what kind of effect it actually could have on the rest of the country. Hey, Michelle, break it on down. Hey, Shannon. So, yes, Governor Greg Giufforte signed Senate Bill 419 yesterday. It makes it illegal to use the app in his state. So this law, which goes into effect January 2024, will ban any downloads of the app in the state. People or companies who use the app or encourage others to do so could be fined up to $10,000 per day. The governor said he wanted to protect residents' private information from being compromised, referencing that the app is run by Chinese company ByteDance. He added that the Chinese government could theoretically harvest data from American users. The legislation also points out that TikTok encourages minors to, quote, participate in dangerous activities, and they cited examples of people throwing objects at moving vehicles and overdosing on medication. So the sentiment echoes what other government officials have warned, which includes numerous senators and the heads of the FBI and CIA and President Biden himself. They've all said that TikTok could be a major national security threat. Montana is the first state to ban TikTok, but more than 30 others have put restrictions on the app in place. And it's mostly for government officials at this time. In a statement to Cheddar, a TikTok spokesperson called the move by the governor, quote, unlawful. And they added that we want to assure Montanans that they can continue to use TikTok to express themselves, earn a living and find community as we continue working to defend the rights of our users inside and outside Montana. TikTok has previously said that it's never been asked to hand over data and wouldn't if it was. But in November and sorry, in December 2022, the company admitted it inappropriately accessed data of two journalists using the app. So there is some cases around 200000 people use the app in Montana. That includes 6000 businesses. That's according to the company. Many businesses rely on the app as a source of income or a way to attract customers through marketing. So this could have a major effect for them. And as I mentioned, numerous other states are considering putting restrictions on the app. This bill could serve as a blueprint for other politicians looking to cramp down on TikTok. Well, I know a lot of people are worried, especially those influencers that rely on TikTok for their income. So it'll be interesting to see how this pans out and other states and there as well. All right. Thank you so much, Michelle, for that update.

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State of Rio Grande do Sul

Death toll rises in Brazil's massive floods

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Paris

China's Xi Jinping visits Europe amid global tensions

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Tel Aviv-Yafo

Israel-Gaza War

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Israel announces ban of Al Jazeera channel, website

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Perth

Australian police shoot boy dead after stabbing

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London

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Irvine

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Camperdown

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Willetton

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Jerusalem

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Canberra

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Ensenada

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Kyiv

Ukraine Invasion

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Surrey

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Wenchang

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Ankara

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Arizona

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Zaporizhzhia

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TikTok Ban