TikTok Sues To Stop Ban In Montana

TikTok has recently filed a lawsuit in a US federal court to prevent Montana from outright banning the video-sharing social media app.

TikTok stated in its lawsuit that the unprecedented prohibition is scheduled to go into effect in 2024 violates the constitutionally guaranteed right to free expression.

According to the media, the popular video app TikTok filed a lawsuit against Montana claiming that the country’s First Amendment right to free speech will be violated by the new law of the state prohibiting the app globally.

Moreover, the lawsuit attempts to invalidate the legislation, which was signed last week by Republican Governor of the state Greg Gianforte and is also scheduled to take effect on January 1.

In its complaint, TikTok, estimates 150 million US users, stating that the state’s “extraordinary and unrivalled measures are based on nothing more than unfounded speculation”

In Montana, 5 TikTok creators also sued the state last week over the ban, claiming First Amendment safeguards.

Last week while taking to Twitter, the Governor of Montana, Greg Gianforte announced the ban on TikTok stating that it is done to protect Montanans’ personal & private data from the Chinese Communist Party.

Gianforte tweeted that, “TikTok is just one app tied to foreign adversaries. Today I directed the state’s Chief Information Officer to ban any application that provides personal information or data to foreign adversaries from the state network. I prohibited the use of TikTok on state devices which poses a significant risk to the security of our state and Montanans’ sensitive data.”

Gianforte said that TikTok posed a “significant risk” to confidential state information when Montana put a ban on the app used by the government in December 2022. Both the federal governments and more than half of the states in the US have a proportionate ban on video-sharing social networking platforms.

Also, Gianforte said that as of June 1, no social media platforms linked to foreign enemies that would allow it to be used on government property or for official activities in Montana.

He mentioned a number of apps, along with WeChat, whose parent business is based in China, and Telegram Messenger, that was established in Russia.