“We are challenging Montana’s unconstitutional TikTok ban to protect our business and the hundreds of thousands of TikTok users in Montana,” the filing states. The ban, which is set to take effect on Jan. 1, 2024, fines TikTok or any app store each time someone in Montana “is offered the ability” to access TikTok’s platform in any capacity.
Why is TikTok suing Montana?
Answer: Because the state banned it.
The war around TikTok in the U.S. is heating up. There have been many discussions of banning the app, as well as a number of moratoriums on it on government-owned devices in some states, but the biggest move came this month when the governor of Montana signed into law a complete ban on the app within the state. TikTok retaliated on Monday by filing a federal lawsuit.
“We are challenging Montana’s unconstitutional TikTok ban to protect our business and the hundreds of thousands of TikTok users in Montana,” the filing states. The ban, which is set to take effect on Jan. 1, 2024, fines TikTok or any app store each time someone in Montana “is offered the ability” to access TikTok’s platform in any capacity.
The lawsuit argues that Montana “banishes TikTok, and just TikTok, from the state for purely punitive reasons, as evidenced by the state’s decision to single out plaintiff for harsh penalties based on speculative concerns about TikTok’s data security and content moderation practices.” It specifically names Attorney General Austin Knudsen, who is in charge of enforcing the state’s ban on the app.
“We are challenging Montana’s unconstitutional TikTok ban to protect our business and the hundreds of thousands of TikTok users in Montana,” the filing states. The ban, which is set to take effect on Jan. 1, 2024, fines TikTok or any app store each time someone in Montana “is offered the ability” to access TikTok’s platform in any capacity.
