TikTok sues Montana over ban on social media app, claims law violates company’s freedom of speech
The social media company TikTok sued the state of Montana in federal court Monday, claiming that a state law banning the app violated its freedom of speech.
Montana passed last week the first statewide bill banning the Chinese-owned media platform, most popular for short-form videos, within its borders last week.
The law, which will take effect in January, would penalize anyone using or assisting in the use of TikTok in Montana with a $10,000 fine.
The state has said it will not enforce the law against individual users but only on the tech companies.
Montana officials have said the law will protect the private data and personal information of its residents from China’s communist government.
But the company claims the state is running afoul of federal law and the U.S. Constitution. It asked the court to halt any enforcement of the law while the case is being litigated on the merits.
Within 24 hours of the law’s having passed, five Montana TikTok users filed a lawsuit in federal court in Missoula claiming both that the law violates their free-speech rights and that the state doesn’t have authority over matters of national security.
