Is the US banning TikTok?
TikTokTikTok users across the United States of America are on red alert yet again after the Governor of Montana signed a bill to ban TikTok in the state, but the app has filed a lawsuit against it.
Over the last few years, various members of the US government have made it clear that they do not want TikTok to operate inside of the United States of America.
This is largely due to it being owned by ByteDance, a China-based company, which members of the Senate believe may share information with the Chinese Government and spy on its users.
Here’s everything we know about the latest moves made to suppress the app within the US State and Federal government, as well as any moves made to ban TikTok from operating entirely.
UNSPLASH: Solen FeyissaTikTok files lawsuit against the state of Montana
On May 22, 2023, TikTok filed a lawsuit against the state of Montana regarding the recent signing of the bill banning the short-form video app from the state.
“We are challenging Montana’s unconstitutional TikTok ban to protect our business and the hundreds of thousands of TikTok users in Montana,” a TikTok spokesperson told NBCNews. “We believe our legal challenge will prevail based on an exceedingly strong set of precedents and facts.”
This is just the first attempt at ending the TikTok ban in Montana, and likely won’t be the last. We’ll keep this article updated as more news becomes available.
Montana Governor signs bill to ban TikTok
As reported by APNews, Montana governor Greg Gianforte signed the bill passed by state lawmakers earlier in 2023 on May 17, 2023, making January 1, 2024, the day TikTok will be banned from every resident of the state.
Is TikTok getting banned in the USA?
At the time of writing, the government in the United States of America has not announced a ban on TikTok in the country – despite concerns about data sharing with the Chinese government.
However, on March 13, 2024, the United States House of Representatives did vote to pass a bill that would ban TikTok in the US if Chinese company ByteDance does not divest its interest in the app.
However, despite the House vote, the bill would still need to pass the Senate and be signed into law by President Joe Biden in order to become law of the land. Biden has said that he would sign the bill, but it is still not yet legally binding.
We will update this article as further developments become known.
