Opinion: Montana’s law banning TikTok won’t do anything, but something must be done regarding kids and social media

It verges on hysteria to say, as Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte does, that, "The Chinese Communist Party using TikTok to spy on Americans, violate their privacy, and collect their personal, private, and sensitive information is well-documented." — (Dreamstime/TNS)

In an anti-China panic, Montana has banned one of the world’s most popular social media apps. That’s plain stupid – but rising concern about social media’s effect on young people is the opposite of stupid.

It’s true that TikTok’s parent company is Chinese, and it’s true that the Chinese Communist government has significant leverage over it. That’s why TikTok is verboten on government devices in the US, as well as in the UK, Australia, Canada and New Zealand.