The turmoil around the social media app TikTok over the weekend left some users in Montana uncertain, as President Donald Trump’s promise to keep the platform functioning is at odds with the goals of Montana state officials who have called to ban the app.
“We know the Chinese Communist Party is using TikTok to steal data and spy on Americans. It should be banned as Congress intended and the Supreme Court affirmed,” Republican Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen wrote in a statement on Sunday.
In 2023, Knudsen promoted a bill ultimately signed by Republican Gov. Greg Gianforte that banned the app in Montana.
“The governor stands by the bill passed by the Legislature to protect Montanans from foreign adversaries who are trying to spy on them and steal their personal, private data,” wrote spokesperson Kaitlin Price Wednesday in response to questions about the governor’s position on the issue.
A federal judge later blocked the state’s ban after TikTok and several Montana users filed lawsuits that were ultimately combined into a single case. Knudsen appealed, but the lawsuit went on hold in 2024 when a ruling on the federal ban seemed imminent.
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After being sworn in on Monday, Trump issued an executive order that could keep the app functional for 75 days by extending the period of time China-based parent company ByteDance has to sell TikTok. The app had gone dark following the U.S. Supreme Court decision to uphold a federal law mandating ByteDance’s sale of TikTok, but came back online after Trump indicated he’d take action.
Even if Trump’s extension of the window for ByteDance to sell TikTok signals the ban on the app could eventually be lifted at the federal level, the social media platform may face challenges in Montana.
“Federal we might be good, but Montana, we may not,” said Heather DiRocco, a content creator and one of the plaintiffs in the 2023 lawsuit against Montana’s TikTok ban. “I don’t feel like I’m ever going to get comfortable with TikTok again.”
DiRocco said the disappearance of ByteDance’s apps over the weekend was “the definition of censorship.” She also said she believes the app enables Montanans to find community.
Dale Stout, a TikTok creator and fellow plaintiff in the 2023 lawsuit, echoed DiRocco, saying that the social media platform has allowed him to build personal connections with his followers.
“You get to know these people on a daily basis. They do become friends, whether they’re from Alabama or Australia,” Stout said. He also acknowledged that many Montana entrepreneurs and businesses use TikTok to connect to customers.
As of Thursday, Montana users can continue to access TikTok, though the app’s future remains uncertain.
“Anything’s possible from here on out,” Stout said. “Everything leading up to now has been kind of nuts.”
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