I get the sense that this is a backlash bill. Essentially: You can’t legislate morality, but if people don’t regulate themselves at some level, then society will do it for them.
This is the pendulum swinging back from absolute hedonism.
The Montana state legislature voted to ban TikTok in the state. The bill would prevent a company from allowing people in Montana to download the app.
https://leg.mt.gov/bills/2023/billpdf/SB0419.pdf
The bill states that the reasoning is because 1) China is an adversary to the U.S. and 2) TikTok promotes harmful behavior and collects data on users.
It was sponsored by a Republican and mostly passed by Republicans. Most Democrats opposed it but were outvoted. It still needs to be signed by the governor, and it would be open to court challenges.
I don't like TikTok, but that's not a promising snapshot for where lawmakers are in terms of software control.
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