More than a dozen US state attorneys general have backed Montana’s state ban on short-form video app TikTok.

The 18 state attorney generals come from historically red states: Alaska, Georgia, Utah, Indiana, Nebraska, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky and South Dakota.

In May, Montana became the first US state to ban the popular social media app based on unsubstantiated allegations that the Chinese government is using the app to spy on Americans. The ban, which is set to take effect from 1 January 2024, will see platforms that offer the app such as the Apple App Store and Google Play Store, fined up to $10,000 a day for being in violation.

There is currently no means for Google or Apple to block or allow access to specific apps on a state-by-state basis, and it remains unclear if and how the ban is actually enforceable.

But while the logistics of the ban continue to be doubted, the group of 18 state attorneys general have endorsed it on the grounds that “TikTok intentionally engages in deceptive business practices which induce individuals to share sensitive personal information that can be easily accessed by the Chinese Communist Party and because TikTok’s platform harms children in Montana."

TikTok has continually refuted the claims, and is seeking to block the ban on several grounds including violation of the First Amendment free speech rights of the company and users. A hearing on the company’s request for a preliminary injunction is set for 12 October.

TikTok, which has an overwhelmingly younger demographic than US social media apps such as Facebook, Instagram and Twitter – now known as X – has faced sustained attacks from Republican politicians, with former president Donald Trump attempting and failing to enforce a nationwide ban on new downloads of the app.

More recently, a Republican attorney general Austin Knudsen endorsed Montana’s ban, saying that the state “did the right thing.”

Share Story: