Montana is on the verge of passing a law that would impose a total ban on the popular Chinese-owned app TikTok, which would be unprecedented in the US and could test the legal waters for a national ban.
The proposed law has been overwhelmingly approved by Montana’s Republican-dominated lower house, with a final vote scheduled for Friday before it goes to the governor to become law.
If enacted, the proposed ban would take effect in 2024, and would require Apple and Google to remove TikTok from their app stores, with companies facing daily fines of $10,000 if found in violation.
TikTok has responded by saying that US courts would likely have the final say on the law’s constitutionality. The app already faces pressure from the White House to either split from its Chinese owners or stop operating in the US.
Critics argue that the proposed law violates freedom of speech, and it faces almost certain legal challenges, possibly going all the way to the Supreme Court.
