IDAHO, USA — Idaho Attorney General Raúl Labrador has joined with 17 other states in signing onto an amicus brief filed by the Virginia AG that supports Montana's legislation that would ban TikTok in the state unless the app separates from its parent company.
"The tentacles of the Chinese Communist Party are wrapped around TikTok," said Attorney General Labrador. "We can't ignore the existential threat that poses to our national security and the well-being of so many users – many of them teens. TikTok has 150 million users here in the United States alone and the exposure that it creates is troubling."
A news release from Labrador's office stated that the bill's purpose isn't to ban the app, rather, the legislation is to protect Idahoans "by requiring the app to divest from its Chinese parent, ByteDance."
Lawmakers have alleged that the app can pose a national security threat, because Chinese intelligence laws could force the company to hand over any information it has to the government.
President Biden has recently said to reporters that he would sign the legislation into law if it passes and the proposed bill has been working it's way through the House. The app was already banned on government owned devices in 2022.
Other states that have signed onto the brief are Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, and Utah.
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