Protecting Your Privacy: Montana's Ban on TikTok and the Importance of VPN

Recently, Montana Governor Greg Gianforte signed a bill that  prohibits TikTok from operating in the state, making it the most extreme ban in the United States. The ban will take effect on January 1, 2024, and is almost certainly going to face legal challenges. This move was prompted by Western legislators and regulators' concerns that TikTok and its parent company ByteDance may hand over sensitive user data (such as location information) to Chinese authorities. They also fear that China may use TikTok's content recommendations to spread false information.

TikTok has been trying to prevent the ban from occurring. To alleviate American officials' concerns, TikTok has been emphasizing a proposal called Project Texas. TikTok has partnered with Oracle to store all American user data on servers owned and maintained by Oracle. According to the plan, access to American data will be managed by an independent entity called TikTok US Data Security, which is independent of ByteDance and monitored by external observers. TikTok has started deleting all American user history data from non-Oracle servers and expects to complete the process this year. However, the proposal has not effectively alleviated American officials' concerns.

There is no detailed implementation plan for the Montana ban on TikTok operations, and whether it can be successfully implemented is still unknown.The signing of this bill and TikTok's efforts are more like a political struggle between the US and China using user privacy data. As individual users, we worry that our privacy data may be used as political tools. In fact, not only TikTok, but almost all businesses, especially internet companies, are trying to obtain more user data to improve their marketing algorithms and provide annoying ads. Some even grant third-party users access to their data. However, they claim to provide "security assurance" for your privacy. So, we should protect data from our own hands. One effective method is to use VPNs.

VPNs provide a virtual private network that redirects your IP address through a remotely configured server. When you access the internet through a VPN, the VPN server becomes your data source and proxies all your activities. It is like another person is doing the internet activities for you, making your real identity invisible, making it difficult for others to obtain your privacy data. A good VPN software, such as MetroVPN, will strive to protect your privacy data. MetroVPN provides the following privacy protection features:

① Anonymous browsing

MetroVPN can hide your IP address and encrypt your internet traffic, ensuring that your passwords and other private data remain safe even when you use a public or untrusted Wi-Fi network.

② No DNS leaks

All DNS queries are encrypted and forwarded by MetroVPN's exclusive servers, preventing your visited websites from being tracked by the provider of your internet service.

③ Strict log policy

MetroVPN has a strict log policy, meaning that the VPN service provider never logs or stores any of your online activities.

④ Risk barriers

MetroVPN's advanced features can detect fraudulent, phishing, and malicious website, ensuring that your device and information are safe.

Personal privacy data security is a key focus of MetroVPN, but it can also provide more than that. MetroVPN also offers a number of additional features:

① High-speed internet speed

You may encounter network congestion during peak hours, but it can solve this problem and enjoy unlimited speed and bandwidth. With our built-in game and streaming acceleration servers, you will always have a high-speed internet connection. You will receive an unparalleled experience.

② Global VPN servers

Our servers are located in more than 50 countries and regions around the world, ensuring that you can easily connect from anywhere. You can choose to connect to specific region-based servers to appear as if you are located there, unlocking content limited by region.

③ Kill switch 

It can disconnect your device from the network while disconnecting from the VPN server, ensuring that your traffic remains safe.

Whether the ban on TikTok in Montana is ultimately implemented remains to be seen, but as individual users, we should always focus on ensuring the safety of our privacy data. Although reliable businesses can reduce risks, handing over our data to others always carries risks. We still recommend protecting our privacy data in our own hands. Starting with using MetroVPN can be a good start.