新澳门开奖结果

US Governor bans TikTok over data privacy concerns

On Wednesday, Montana鈥檚 governor Greg Gianforte signed into law the first US state-level ban on TikTok, the social media app. The governor claimed that the action was taken “to prevent the Chinese Communist party from harvesting the personal and private data of Montanans.”

Set to take effect on 1st January 2024, the law will effectively make it illegal to download and use the social media app in the state. The ban is set to have consequences for both users and the company but one group will suffer more. That is the content creators in the state who use the platform.

In response, a group of TikTok content creators have taken the initiative and have sued the state. The lawsuit which is filed by 5 users, seeks to block the law. These users leading the suit include a former Marine sergeant, an exercise influencer, a rancher, and a small swimwear business, with millions of followers combined.

The lawsuit stated explicitly that, 鈥淢ontana can no more ban its residents from viewing or posting to TikTok than it could ban the Wall Street Journal because of who owns it or the ideas it publishes.鈥�

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In the lawsuit, the TikTok users claim that by banning the app, the government is infringing on their first amendment rights. They claim the state wants to 鈥渆xercise powers over national security that Montana does not have and to ban speech Montana may not suppress.鈥�

As the Guardian reports, the state was well aware of probable legal challenges after the ban was passed into law. Emily Flower, Governor Knudsen鈥檚 spokesperson said, 鈥淲e expected a legal challenge and are fully prepared to defend the law.鈥�

The American Civil Liberty Union (ACLU) came out in full support of the TikTok users against the ban. The ACLU termed the ban as 鈥渦nconstitutional.鈥�