WASHINGTON: In spite of skepticism from lawmakers, Republican Governor Greg Gianforte signed a bill outlawing TikTok in Montana on Wednesday, making it the first state in the union to do so. The famous short video app TikTok is now prohibited in Montana after Governor Greg Gianforte signed legislation on Wednesday making it the first U.S. state to do so.

TikTok cannot be sold in the state through mobile application stores, as per the law. The law, according to Gianforte, will advance "our shared priority to protect Montanans from Chinese Communist Party surveillance." The bill "infringes on the First Amendment rights of the people of Montana by unlawfully banning TikTok," according to a statement from TikTok, which is owned by the Chinese internet company ByteDance. They added that they "will defend the rights of our users inside and outside of Montana."

In the past, the corporation has asserted that it has never supplied data with the Chinese government and that it would not do so if requested.

Montana, which has a population of just over 1 million, stated that if TikTok violates the restriction, they may be subject to sanctions. As of January 1, 2024, it is in force.

The brief video app is available for download on Google and Apple Inc. mobile platforms. A division of Alphabet Inc. is Google.

An increasing number of American politicians are calling for a statewide ban on TikTok due to concerns about possible Chinese government influence over the network.

On smartphones provided by the government, Gianforte also outlawed the use of any social media applications that gather and transmit private information or data to adversaries abroad.

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