After a streak of good news (and even a few good updates), the ghost of bans past haunts TikTok once again – the venerable state of Montana is the 1st US state to issue a full ban on the app.
As Reuters reported:
“Montana Governor Greg Gianforte on Wednesday signed legislation to ban Chinese-owned TikTok from operating in the state to protect residents from alleged intelligence gathering by China, making it the first US state to ban the popular short video app.”
State of Emergency
The majority of US states have banned TikTok on government-issued devices, amid concerns around its connection to the Chinese government, as have various other regions, but Montana is the first jurisdiction to take the next step in outright banning the app.
Montana’s TikTok ban is scheduled to take effect on January 1st, 2024, after which Montanans will no longer be allowed to use the app, provided that the ban actually makes it into a law without seeing further challenge. Which it likely will, as TikTok has already indicated that it plans to go against the move.
It’s another mark against TikTok and could be the start of a new wave of action against the app, as tensions between the US and China continue to rise, and security officials issue more warnings about the platform. The main issue, and we think the only real issue is that TikTok, much like any other Chinese-owned business, is mandated to share internal data with the Chinese government upon request, although no such request has been reported thus far. This week, a former ByteDance employee claimed that the CCP has been given ‘supreme access’ to all data held by the company, including access to TikTok’s servers.
Such reports have prompted a range of cybersecurity experts to ring alarm bells about the app, which many politicians are now heeding around the world – though it’s difficult to tell how much of these concerns are based on established facts, and how much is being fueled by anti-China concerns, specifically by ByteDance haters. On this front, it’d at least be safer to bet on entities that would know, such as the FBI, FCC, Britain’s National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), The AU’s Signals Directorate, and Ireland’s NCSC. Here’s what they all say – don’t use TikTok on government-owned devices.
The Wrap
The ban on government devices makes sense, since if the concern is the CCP accessing user information, then you definitely don’t want them to get access to government classified information, which they can then use to potentially sway public opinion. When you play it out, if you’re going to ban TikTok on government devices, then expanded bans make no sense – though again, Montana is the only one taking that step right now.
This state-level approach could become widespread, however. Much like the initial government device bans, it seems entirely possible that Montana’s move will spark a new wave of total bans in the US, which could then spread to other regions. Expect TkTok to push back with everything it has.
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