Explainer | Montana bans TikTok. But can the US state enforce it?

Montana is the first US state to ban TikTok, the popular video-sharing platform owned by Beijing-based ByteDance

The new law is certain to face legal challenges, and enforcing the state’s restrictions could prove to be complex

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The app has more than a billion users worldwide and is widely used in the US and Europe. Photo: EPA-EFE

Published: 1:28pm, 18 May 2023Updated: 1:29pm, 18 May 2023

Montana Governor Greg Gianforte on Wednesday signed into law a first-of-its kind bill that makes it illegal for TikTok to operate in the state, setting up a potential legal fight with the company amid a litany of questions over whether the state can even enforce the law.

The new rules in Montana will have more far-reaching effects than TikTok bans already in place on government-issued devices in nearly half the states and the US federal government.

There are 200,000 TikTok users in Montana as well as 6,000 businesses that use the video-sharing platform, according to company spokesperson Jamal Brown.

Here’s what you need to know:

Why is Montana banning TikTok?

Proponents of the law in Montana claim the Chinese government could harvest US user data from TikTok and use the platform to push pro-Beijing misinformation or messages to the public.

That mirrors arguments made by a bipartisan group of lawmakers in the US Senate, as well as the heads of the FBI and the CIA, all of whom have said TikTok could pose a national security threat because its Beijing-based parent company ByteDance operates under Chinese law.