(The Center Square) – Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen said he’s glad to see the federal government take action against TikTok.
A foreign aid package signed into law by President Joe Biden on Wednesday includes language requiring TikTok’s China-based parent company ByteDance to divest it within a year.
“I’m glad to see that Congress finally acted and followed Montana’s lead,” Knudsen said in a press release.
In 2023, Montana was the first state to ban TikTok on government devices and networks citing concerns about privacy and national security. Formally known as Senate Bill 419, Knudsen’s office played a role in drafting the legislation.
“The dangerous application is a spy tool for the Chinese Communist Party that poses a serious threat to our national security and puts the privacy of Americans at risk,” said Knudsen.
Gov. Greg Gianforte made similar comments in 2023 upon signing the bill into law.
“One of government’s chief responsibilities is to keep its citizens – and their personal, private, sensitive information and data – safe and secure,” the governor said at the 2023 bill signing. “Foreign adversaries’ collection and use of Montanans’ personal information and data from social media applications infringe on Montanans’ constitutionally guaranteed individual right to privacy.”
