Attorney General Miyares Leads Coalition Defending Montana’s TikTok Law

~ Montana’s legislation mirrors federal legislation that passed unanimously out of a House Committee ~

 Richmond, Va. – Attorney General Jason Miyares today announced that he has filed an amicus brief, joined by 18 other states, supporting Montana’s legislation that would prohibit the app in the state unless it separates from its parent Chinese company ByteDance. 

Montana’s legislation is nearly identical to the federal legislation that has received bipartisan support from both Speaker Johnson and President Biden. On March 7th, the federal legislation passed 50-0 out of the House Energy and Commerce Committee.  

The purpose of the bill is not to ban Tiktok nor is it aimed at any particular content on TikTok, but rather to protect Montanans and their data by requiring the app to divest from its Chinese parent, ByteDance. 

“Montana has the authority and responsibility to protect its citizens from foreign threats to their data and privacy. Tiktok’s extensive connections to our country’s most dangerous adversary exposes the data of Montanans—and all Americans—to the thugs of the Chinese Communist Party. This is an unacceptable risk to consumers, and Montana is right to confront it,” said Attorney General Miyares. “While Congress works on similar legislation at the federal level, Montana’s authority to protect its citizens must be preserved.”

The attorneys general highlight that TikTok was the second most downloaded mobile application worldwide last year, with 654 million downloads. The United States has the world’s largest TikTok audience, with 150 million users, and is one of the top online platforms for U.S. teens ages 13 to 17. The brief notes that TikTok, like many other social media sites, is addictive and social media addiction has been traced to higher odds of depression and increased anxiety. It also lays out TikTok’s extensive connections to the Chinese government. 

The following states joined Attorney General Miyares' brief: Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, and Utah.

Read the brief here.

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