In April 2023 it was announced that one of the US states had placed a ban on TikTok being accessed on all personal devices within the state.
The legislation stated that any app store offering TikTok would be doing so illegally, and that consumers were no longer permitted to use the app within state boundaries.
This state was Montana.
But why did Montana choose to ban TikTok?
Why Did Montana Ban TikTok?
Montana’s decision to ban TikTok derives from security concerns, posed by the fact that TikTok is owned by a Chinese company.
The exceptionally high level of data and personal information that floods through TikTok on a daily basis means that many are considering TikTok to be a risk in terms of national and international security.
In a similar vein, TikTok has been banned from the professional devices of multiple governments around the world, again inspired by the security concerns that stem from the data access that the app has.
Another reason why Montana banned TikTok was to alleviate the amount of personal and physical harm being exerted as a result of TikTok challenges. Young people in particular are subject to countless challenges and trending videos which encourage violence and dangerous activity – with more than one death being reported as a direct result of such challenges.
The idea is that banning TikTok will minimise the exposure of young people to this kind of activity.
So, do you agree with the ban, or do you think that banning an app like TikTok poses a risk to free speech and our human right to freedom?
