Is it time to delete social media application TikTok? Photo courtesy of senior Olivia Cusick. 

  Montana governor republican Greg Gianforte signed a bill into law on Wednesday, May 17, banning the social media site Tikok from the phones of citizens of Montana. This ban goes into effect on January 1, 2024. It will not remove the application from the phones of citizens, but it will effectively make app stores remove the site, and charge ten thousand dollars a day the app stays available. This will turn TikTok into a zombie app, as consumers will not be able to update the site, and eventually, it will become unusable. 

  For students at San Luis Obispo High School, this begins to raise questions about the first amendment of the united states constitution, as well as government involvement with personal affairs. 

  “I used to have TikTok. I recently deleted it, and since I removed it, my stress has lowered, and I’ve gotten more sleep. But I also know that everyone’s experience is different. This feels like the start of too much government interference,” said sophomore Julian Johnson. 

  This isn’t completely new for Montana. TikTok was banned from government officials’ devices in December. 

  “I think it’s only a matter of time before the rest of the United States does that. I think that it won’t stop people from going out and using this app. There’s just going to be a new social media app next. The cycle will repeat itself just like Vine and Musically,” said freshman Kai Kelly. 

  With TikTok’s one hundred fifty million American users, a ban is certain to cause some uproar. Some major TikTok personalities have already begun to bring lawsuits against Gianforte. 

  Gianforte defended his decision in an interview with BBC. “our shared priority is to protect Montanans from Chinese Communist Party surveillance,” said Gianforte. 

  This ban is beginning to create a large discussion about the government’s power over citizens’ personal choices. But as this discussion continues, TikTok users can rest assured, knowing that the Montana ban won’t come into effect until next year, and once it does, users can simply use a VPN to update their applications when necessary. 

  As the government debates the role of TikTok in the lives of American citizens; content creators and consumers will continue to use the site as long as they feel it is a positive aspect of their lives.  

Sources: cnn.com, BBC.com, helenair.com