Virginia's Miyares leads attorneys general backing Montana's TikTok ban

(The Center Square) — Virginia Attorney General Miyares has filed an amicus brief, joined by 17 other state attorneys general, commending Montana’s ban on the popular social media platform TikTok, set to take effect on Jan. 1, 2024.

While 34 states have banned TikTok on all state-issued devices, in May, Montana became the first state to ban the app entirely. Prior to that, Miyares had joined 45 states and the District of Columbia in asking that a Tennessee court deal firmly with TikTok, Inc., and “order [the company] to fully comply with an ongoing investigation into whether [it] had violated consumer protection laws.”

The attorneys general have expressed concerns about the involvement of the Chinese Communist Party with the app owned by Chinese company Bytedance and that the app harms mental health and may violate consumers’ privacy.

March’s amicus brief argued that, despite requests for copies of internal company communications for review, TikTok had only provided them in an unusable format and continued allowing employees to use auto-deleting communications software.

Miyares voiced support for Montana’s banning of the app in Tuesday’s amicus brief.

“Montana’s elected officials voted to ban TikTok, and Montanans voted to elect their representatives. This legislation is a result of the will of the Montana voters,” said Miyares. “We know TikTok poses a threat to our privacy and security because of its connection to the Chinese Communist Party, and study after study shows the app harms our children’s mental health - especially young girls. Montana has the right to protect its citizens.”