JUST IN: First State In US Bans TikTok

JUST IN: First State In US Bans TikTok

Montana has become the first US state to ban TikTok after the governor signed legislation prohibiting mobile application stores from offering the app within the state by next year.

The move is among the most dramatic in a series of US escalations against TikTok, which is owned by the Chinese tech company ByteDance. TikTok has come under increasing scrutiny over its ties to China, amid concerns that such links could pose a national security threat.

The federal government, and more than half of US states, have prohibited the app on government devices, and the Biden administration has threatened a national ban unless its parent company sells its shares.

The company has previously denied that it has ever shared data with the Chinese government and has said the company would not do so if asked.

TikTok said in a statement that the Montana bill “infringes on the first amendment rights of the people of Montana by unlawfully banning TikTok”, and that the company intends to “defend the rights of our users inside and outside of Montana”.