Montana lawmakers voted to ban TikTok in the state and forbid app stores from offering it for download. However, people who already have TikTok on their devices would not be in violation of the law, which is likely to become a law on January 1, 2024. The move has First Amendment implications and could spark a constitutional battle and endanger digital rights.
Montana is set to become the first state in the US to ban TikTok, with lawmakers voting 54-43 in favor of a bill that would forbid the popular social media platform from operating in the state and app stores from offering it for download. The bill is expected to be signed into law by Montana’s Republican governor, Greg Gianforte, and would take effect on January 1, 2024. People who already have TikTok on their devices would not be in violation of the law.
This statewide ban has implications for Montana residents’ speech and ability to hear speech, rights protected under the US First Amendment. Montana attorney general Austin Knudsen said that this ban is the “next frontier in First Amendment jurisprudence” and will likely have to be decided by the US Supreme Court.
TikTok has condemned the bill on both First Amendment and logistical grounds. TikTok spokesperson Brooke Oberwetter said in a statement that “the bill’s champions have admitted that they have no feasible plan for operationalizing this attempt to censor American voices and that the bill’s constitutionality will be decided by the courts.”
A previous version of the bill would have required internet service providers to block connections to TikTok in Montana, a task that ISP representatives said wasn’t doable. A trade association that represents companies that run mobile app stores, namely Google and Apple, also told the Montana legislature that it would be virtually impossible to halt downloads of TikTok in Montana.
Many researchers have long warned that banning TikTok is incompatible with the democratic principles of the open internet. The US has consistently condemned platform blocks, content filtering, and internet shutdowns when other governments impose them on their citizens. These repressive digital tactics have been on the rise globally in recent years. Yet many US officials and lawmakers at both the state and federal levels have called for a TikTok ban.
The very fact of Montana’s creation of this ban may embolden other states or even the federal government to consider paths to a TikTok ban, tipping off a chain reaction that could have profound impacts on freedom of digital expression in the US and around the world. It’s a maddening irony that American legislators’ idea for countering China is to act more like China, home of the Great Firewall that censors its citizens’ free access to the flow of information.
In conclusion, the looming TikTok ban in Montana has serious implications for digital rights and the First Amendment. The ban may also serve as a precedent for other states or even the federal government to consider a similar ban, which could have far-reaching implications for digital freedom and the open internet. The TikTok ban is a stark reminder of the growing tension between concerns over national security and digital rights, and how lawmakers navigate these issues will have significant consequences for the future of the internet.