• by Wendy Davis  @wendyndavis, April 13, 2023

Montana lawmakers on Thursday advanced a bill that aims to ban the use of TikTok in the state, due to concerns about national security, privacy and the app's content.

Senate Bill 419, which would take effect in January, prohibits TikTok from operating in Montana, and prohibits internet service providers and app stores from offering TikTok to users in Montana.

The bill would not penalize users, but provides for sanctions of $10,000 per day against TikTok and mobile app stores.

House lawmakers advanced the measure Thursday by a vote of 60-39, and are expected to vote for a final time on Friday. The state Senate passed the proposed law last month by a 30-20 vote.

The bill contains language saying TikTok, which is owned by the Chinese company ByteDance, “gathers significant information from its users, accessing data against their will to share with the People's Republic of China.”

The bill also says TikTok “fails to remove, and may even promote, dangerous content that directs minors to engage in dangerous activities” such as “throwing objects at moving automobiles,” “inducing unconsciousness through oxygen deprivation,” and “cooking chicken in NyQuil.”

The American Civil Liberties Union, Center for Democracy and Technology, Electronic Frontier Foundation and other digital rights organizations oppose the bill, arguing that it would violate the First Amendment.

“TikTok is home to massive amounts of protected speech and association: it enables Montana residents to discuss their opinions, share their hobbies, make art, and access news from down the street and around the world,” the groups said this week in a letter to Montana lawmakers.

“SB 419 is censorship,” the groups add. “It would unjustly cut Montanans off from a platform where they speak out and exchange ideas everyday, and it would set an alarming precedent for excessive government control over how Montanans use the internet.”

Numerous states have already banned the use of TikTok on government-owned devices or public WiFi networks, but no state has yet passed legislation prohibiting people from accessing TikTok on private devices or networks.

On the federal level, Senators Mark Warner (D-Virginia) and John Thune (R-South Dakota) introduced the Restricting the Emergence of Security Threats that Risk Information and Communications Technology (RESTRICT) Act, which could ultimately lead to a ban on apps or other communications technology owned by China and other companies deemed foreign adversaries.

Earlier this year the House Foreign Affairs Committee advanced a separate bill that could empower President Joe Biden to ban TikTok.

That measure, Deterring America's Foreign Adversaries Act (HR 1553), would revise the International Emergency Economic Powers Act by allowing the government to block “informational” material, in some situations. Currently, the International Emergency Economic Powers Act limits the ability to material considered informational, such as photos and news feeds.

Democrats on the House Foreign Affairs Committee opposed the bill, arguing that it is inconsistent with free-speech principles.