TikTok, the popular video-sharing platform, has sued Montana over a new law that prohibits the use of the app in the state. Montana became the first state in the United States to ban the app. The law will come into effect in January 2024, according to Republican Governor Greg Gianforte who signed the bill on Wednesday. He said the law was meant to protect Montanans’ personal data from the Chinese Communist Party.
However, TikTok believes the move is unconstitutional and has filed a lawsuit to challenge the ban. A spokesperson for the platform told CBS News that the company was optimistic it would prevail over the ban in court. They stated, “We are challenging Montana’s unconstitutional TikTok ban to protect our business and the hundreds of thousands of TikTok users in Montana.”
TikTok argued in the suit that the ban violated free speech, given that it restricted the platform’s forum for speech. The company also stated that this singled out speakers and gave them disfavored treatment. TikTok’s suit further claims that security concerns related to the Chinese government having access to user data fell under the authority of the US government, rather than the state’s.
Content creators on TikTok have also taken legal action against the ban. The group filed a complaint on the same day that the governor signed the bill into law, citing that the ban violated their First Amendment right to access and create lawful speech.
Overall, the ban in Montana will greatly impact TikTok users in the state. The legal actions taken by the platform and the app’s content creators show that they are not willing to go down without a fight. The case underscores the importance of data privacy concerns at the state level and how this legal battle will unfold.
