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April 25 (Reuters) – Montana Governor Greg Gianforte is seeking to broaden a bill that will ban not just TikTok, but other social media applications that provide certain data to foreign adversaries, the Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday.
Earlier this month, Montana lawmakers passed a bill, known as SB 419, to ban TikTok, which is owned by Chinese tech company ByteDance, from operating in the state.
TikTok as well as Apple Inc and Alphabet Inc’s Google, which operate mobile app stores, would face fines if they violate the ban, should the bill become law.
The governor’s proposed language in the broader bill removes app stores from being held liable for offering such social media apps for downloading in the state, WSJ said, citing an amended draft of the bill.
TikTok is facing growing calls from some U.S. lawmakers to ban the app nationwide over concerns about potential Chinese government influence over the platform.
The short-form video app has repeatedly denied that it has ever shared data with the Chinese government and has said the company would not do so if asked.
The governor’s office and TikTok did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. (Reporting by Jahnavi Nidumolu in Bengaluru; Editing by Edmund Klamann and Michael Perry)
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