Montana Bans TikTok, But People Believe This Violates Free Speech

Greg Gianforte has signed Senate Bill 419 this Wednesday , banning TikTok from operating within the state. Gianforte believes the move is to "protect Montanas' person, private, and sensitive data" from being collected by China. “The Chinese Communist Party using TikTok to spy on Americans, violate their privacy, and collect their personal, private, and sensitive information is well-documented,” Gianforte said in a press release. “Today, Montana takes the most decisive action of any state to protect Montanans’ private data and sensitive personal information from being harvested by the Chinese Communist Party.” According to the bill, “Tiktok may not operate within the territorial jurisdiction of Montana," and will prevent Apple and Google from offering the platform on their stores for download. Once in effect, the Montana Department of Justice can fine app stores or parent company ByteDance up to $10,000 for each violation, and an additional $10,000 for each day it continues. Social media users have shared their two cents since the announcement, many citing concerns about free speech. "This unconstitutional ban undermines the free speech and association of Montana TikTok users and intrudes on TikTok’s interest in disseminating its users’ videos," writes @EFF. "It is a blatant violation of the First Amendment, whether it's done by Congress or Montana ." "This law tramples on our free speech rights under the guise of national security and lays the groundwork for excessive government control over the internet," tweets @ACLU. "Elected officials do not have the right to selectively censor entire social media apps based on their country of origin." This surprising news comes just several months after the RESTRICT Act was proposed, which many believed was introduced to ban the use of TikTok. As it turns out, it's much more than that, and if passed, the legislation will apply to any web-based platform and product with over one million users. It also applies to all hardware, software, and mobile apps. A reporter who was present for the hearing in March said Congress wants the power to amend Section 230 to limit free speech, and while this may not be Gianforte's motive, his actions should raise some red flags. Banning TikTok – or really any any other platform intended for communication – poses a significant threat to freedom of expression. The right to express ourselves should be protected by the First Amendment, regardless of whatever medium we decide to use. With Montana becoming the first state to ban the platform, we must ask: Will others follow suit? If so, what other forms of communication will they ban in the future? Evie deserves to be heard. Support our cause and help women reclaim their femininity by subscribing today.