State of Montana Bans TikTok

[ProfX]

Hmmm. Let's discuss unenforceable laws, shall we?

Montana governor bans TikTok. But can the state enforce the law?
https://apnews.com/article/tiktok-ban-m ... f72b6fec70

NEW YORK (AP) — Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte on Wednesday signed into law a first-of-its kind bill that makes it illegal for TikTok to operate in the state, setting up a potential legal fight with the company amid a litany of questions over whether the state can even enforce the law.

The new rules in Montana will have more far-reaching effects than TikTok bans already in place on government-issued devices in nearly half the states and the U.S. federal government. There are 200,000 TikTok users in Montana as well as 6,000 businesses that use the video-sharing platform, according to company spokesperson Jamal Brown.

WHY IS MONTANA BANNING TIKTOK?

Proponents of the law in Montana claim the Chinese government could harvest U.S. user data from TikTok and use the platform to push pro-Beijing misinformation or messages to the public.

That mirrors arguments made by a bipartisan group of lawmakers in the U.S. Senate, as well as the heads of the FBI and the CIA, all of whom have said TikTok could pose a national security threat because its Beijing-based parent company ByteDance operates under Chinese law.

[snip][end]

So, I admit I can understand why the federal government and maybe other governments ban anybody who's working in defense or nat'l security from using the app. I get that. There is at least a theoretical security risk.

Is the Chinese Communist Party really that interested in the latest dance craze, teen challenge, or goofy skit created by ordinary users? Yeah, I get it's a threat to the privacy of kids who are using it. And so is just about every other anti-social media app.

How are they going to enforce that? At least they won't chase after users. They say they will pursue any app store that enables you to download the app with fines. So Apple or Google get fined every time a kid in Montana downloads the app. That could work, theoretically, I guess it checks the IP address of the user to see if they reside in the state of Montana. But also easy to thwart with IP spoofing, VPNs, or heck just visiting a friend in a neighboring state and then downloading the app while you're there. It's good they are not going after users, but again, it's already on thousands of peoples phones in Montana, and I don't think they are going to go around forcing them to delete it.

[ZoWie]

VPN time. I use NordVPN. It's expensive, but it's fast and reliable. However, since I signed up with them the field has become full of players and there's more price competition.

Some are better than others. You want one with a lot of server capacity in a lot of countries, so you can get around regional limits by connecting to a server in a country with the right IP for whatever your nefarious purpose is.

Right now, practically everybody who understands Internet has a VPN, though as I just noted, some are better than others. They are mandatory if you travel and you don't want to get hacked at the airport, in Starbucks, etc..

This environment makes the simple blocking of IPs obsolete. There are other ways to stop unwanted traffic and protect domestic businesses, but lawmakers don't have the tech savvy to require them.

The legislators in Montana might think they can block TikTok, but a communication system designed to survive a nuclear war can route around legislation in a millisecond. We invented this net, we wholeheartedly put everything on it, now we sleep (badly) in the bed we have made. It's about to completely change again. People are going to frickin lose it.

[Number6]

From the link in the OP:

Cybersecurity experts say that, other than avoiding the fine, there’s nothing incentivizing the companies involved to comply and it will be extremely difficult — if not impossible — to adequately enforce the law.

For one, the U.S. doesn’t have anything equivalent to the type of control countries like China have on what their citizens access on the web. Compounding that, internet service providers are out of the picture.

Telecoms analyst Roger Entner, of Recon Analytics, says he believes the app stores could have the capability to enforce the law, but it would be cumbersome to implement and full of loopholes. Apple and Google’s address-linked billing could be bypassed with prepaid cards and IP geolocation easily masked by using a VPN service, which can alter IP addresses and allows users to evade content restrictions, said mobile security expert Will Strafach, the founder of Guardian, which makes a privacy protection app for Apple devices.

Oded Vanunu, head of products vulnerability research at the cybersecurity firm Check Point, agreed it would be difficult for app stores to isolate a single state from downloading an app. He suggested it would be more feasible for TikTok to comply since it controls the software and can “adjust the settings based on the geographical location or IP addresses” of users.

I don't have TikTok but that ban wouldn't stop me from downloading and using it if I lived in Montana. ZoWie and the OP link, remarked how using a VPN can get around it. Also, the app could legally be downloaded if the person was in another state that didn't make it illegal to download. I have a Google Pixel 7 Pro cell phone that came with VPN so if I downloaded the app the state wouldn't know unless they had access to my phone. ''The thing is who is going to be checking people's phones and computers for the app? I think the only time a person would be charged would be in connection with another crime where the police had the person's phone and were able to access (open) the phone as part of their search for evidence.

[Glennfs]

Hmmm. Let's discuss unenforceable laws, shall we?

Montana governor bans TikTok. But can the state enforce the law?
https://apnews.com/article/tiktok-ban-m ... f72b6fec70

NEW YORK (AP) — Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte on Wednesday signed into law a first-of-its kind bill that makes it illegal for TikTok to operate in the state, setting up a potential legal fight with the company amid a litany of questions over whether the state can even enforce the law.

The new rules in Montana will have more far-reaching effects than TikTok bans already in place on government-issued devices in nearly half the states and the U.S. federal government. There are 200,000 TikTok users in Montana as well as 6,000 businesses that use the video-sharing platform, according to company spokesperson Jamal Brown.

WHY IS MONTANA BANNING TIKTOK?

Proponents of the law in Montana claim the Chinese government could harvest U.S. user data from TikTok and use the platform to push pro-Beijing misinformation or messages to the public.

That mirrors arguments made by a bipartisan group of lawmakers in the U.S. Senate, as well as the heads of the FBI and the CIA, all of whom have said TikTok could pose a national security threat because its Beijing-based parent company ByteDance operates under Chinese law.

[snip][end]

So, I admit I can understand why the federal government and maybe other governments ban anybody who's working in defense or nat'l security from using the app. I get that. There is at least a theoretical security risk.

Is the Chinese Communist Party really that interested in the latest dance craze, teen challenge, or goofy skit created by ordinary users? Yeah, I get it's a threat to the privacy of kids who are using it. And so is just about every other anti-social media app.

How are they going to enforce that? At least they won't chase after users. They say they will pursue any app store that enables you to download the app with fines. So Apple or Google get fined every time a kid in Montana downloads the app. That could work, theoretically, I guess it checks the IP address of the user to see if they reside in the state of Montana. But also easy to thwart with IP spoofing, VPNs, or heck just visiting a friend in a neighboring state and then downloading the app while you're there. It's good they are not going after users, but again, it's already on thousands of peoples phones in Montana, and I don't think they are going to go around forcing them to delete it.

The one thing good about this is perhaps it will shine the light of truth on tic tok and people will abandon it.

[ZoWie]

Most of the TikTok users that I know about would tend to use it more. They are at that age where it's cool to rebel against rules made by their elders.

[Number6]

Most of the TikTok users that I know about would tend to use it more. They are at that age where it's cool to rebel against rules made by their elders.

I think that age group would be 12 - 75 years old. I know a lot of older people who get a kick out of rebelling against any authority.

[Glennfs]

I think that age group would be 12 - 75 years old. I know a lot of older people who get a kick out of rebelling against any authority.

Eff the man eff the man now where did I put my Metamucil.
BTW something is only funny when it is partially true.

[gounion]

The one thing good about this is perhaps it will shine the light of truth on tic tok and people will abandon it.

Trump only got mad when Tik Tok users used the app to mobilize and ask for thousands of tickets to his rallies, then Trump would brag that a million people would show up, and only a handful showed up. He was embarrassed, so he wanted to ban it.

[Glennfs]

Trump only got mad when Tik Tok users used the app to mobilize and ask for thousands of tickets to his rallies, then Trump would brag that a million people would show up, and only a handful showed up. He was embarrassed, so he wanted to ban it.

Very true

[gounion]

The right talks about “freedom” but they are shutting down our freedoms.

[Glennfs]

The right talks about “freedom” but they are shutting down our freedoms.

So you are in favor of Chinese ran tik tok

[gounion]

So you are in favor of Chinese ran tik tok

It’s not run by the Chinese. GOP lie.

I use Tik Tok. Don’t see politics there, I get good clips from old and new TV shows. I started watching 9-1-1 and The Rookie because of Tik Tok.

[Glennfs]

It’s not run by the Chinese. GOP lie.

I use Tik Tok. Don’t see politics there, I get good clips from old and new TV shows. I started watching 9-1-1 and The Rookie because of Tik Tok.

https://www.cnn.com/2023/03/24/tech/tik ... index.html

100pct owned by Chinese.
What a month first you support your hero Disney and their child and slave labor.
Now you support the communist Chinese.

[gounion]

https://www.cnn.com/2023/03/24/tech/tik ... index.html

100pct owned by Chinese.
What a month first you support your hero Disney and their child and slave labor.
Now you support the communist Chinese.

It’s incorporated in the Cayman Islands, like most US Corporations. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ByteDance

And YOU are the one that loves slave labor Glenn.

I use the app. I send no money to China like you do.

[ProfX]

Montana's governor won't stop with TikTok. He has other apps and networks in his sights. Where is this going to stop?

Montana's governor is going after Temu, WeChat, and Telegram, too
Governor Gianforte wants to ban a list of popular apps from other countries. But American apps pose plenty of risks, too.
https://www.zdnet.com/article/montanas- ... justified/

These things are all operated by multinational corporations at this point. Do they really answer to any country? And plenty of "American" apps like Facebook and Twitter were used by our adversaries against Americans.

[Glennfs]

It’s incorporated in the Cayman Islands, like most US Corporations. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ByteDance

And YOU are the one that loves slave labor Glenn.

I use the app. I send no money to China like you do.

While I disagree with your beliefs I fully defend your right to support Disney and its child and slave labor as well as your support of the Chinese government.

I am surprised by it but you support whomever you want it is your right

Remember the reason you claim I support Trump and apply it here

[gounion]

Run to Pappy Trump.

All this is is deflection. You dont care about actual issues.

[Glennfs]

Run to Pappy Trump.

All this is is deflection. You dont care about actual issues.

Break the glass

[gounion]

Break the glass

It’s what you do. You can always bring up Biden and dementia.

[Glennfs]

It’s what you do. You can always bring up Biden and dementia.

I can show proof of his mental decline

[gounion]

I can show proof of his mental decline

No, you can’t. All you can do is make allegations.

[ZoWie]

We're all grownups here, and we all know how American business is run. TikTok in the US is owned by a shell corporation with papers offshore of both the US and China. Same thing everyone else does.

The issue has been whether the firewall between TikTok's US management and the Chinese parent corporation with its close ties to the Chinese government is porous, and if so, how porous. The last thing we want is another 2016 election agitprop/ward heeling fiasco, but that's what we'll get if we don't ask the tough questions.

[Motor City]

Another regrettable incident