Montana Governor Greg Gianforte signed a law Wednesday banning TikTok in the state, effective January 1, 2024. Five users have sought to block the law from being implemented. The lawsuit, filed late Wednesday in the U.S. District Court in Montana, names the state's Attorney General, Austin Knudsen, who is responsible for enforcing the law.
Tiktok logo. Photo: Reuters
According to the lawsuit, these users believe the law violates their First Amendment rights. “Montana cannot ban its residents from viewing or posting to TikTok any more than it can ban the Wall Street Journal because of who owns it or the ideas it publishes,” the lawsuit says.
Emily Flower, a spokeswoman for Attorney General Knudsen, said the state is prepared for lawsuits.
TikTok, owned by ByteDance, is facing bans across the US over data security concerns.
TikTok said Montana's ban "violates Montanans' First Amendment rights by unlawfully banning TikTok" and said it will "continue to work to protect the rights of our users inside and outside of Montana."
TikTok has repeatedly denied that it has ever shared data with Chinese authorities and said the company would not do so if asked.
The case was assigned to Judge Donald Molloy, who was appointed by Democratic President Bill Clinton in 1995.
Montana, which has a population of just over 1 million, said TikTok could face fines for each violation and an additional $10,000 per day if it violates the ban.
Mai Anh (according to Reuters)
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