TikTok Sues Montana For Banning App

Updated on May 23, 2023

• In a move predicted by experts, TikTok has filed a federal lawsuit against Montana after the state passed a law to ban the app last week.
• TikTok is arguing that banning the app amounts to censorship and the suppression of free speech. The lawsuit aims to overturn Senate Bill 419, which Gov. Greg Gianforte signed earlier this month and has yet to go into effect.
• TikTok's lawsuit states that Montana's decision "unlawfully abridges one of the core freedoms guaranteed by the First Amendment."
• In a public statement, TikTok defended its lawsuit:

"We are challenging Montana's unconstitutional TikTok ban to protect our business and the hundreds of thousands of TikTok users in Montana. We believe our legal challenge will prevail based on an exceedingly strong set of precedents and facts."

What's the story?

• Montana has become the first U.S. state to ban TikTok. 
• Gov. Greg Gianforte signed Senate Bill 419, imposing fines of up to $10,000 per day for marketplaces such as Google Play Store or Apple App that offer the app. The ban will take effect on Jan. 1, 2024. TikTok is expected to contest the bill in federal court.

Rationale behind TikTok ban

• Gov. Gianforte has cited the need to protect residents' personal data, specifically highlighting concerns regarding the Chinese government. In a statement, he said: 

"The Chinese Communist Party using TikTok to spy on Americans, violate their privacy, and collect their personal, private, and sensitive information is well-documented."

• Last Dec., President Joe Biden signed legislation banning TikTok on government devices.
• Republican lawmakers are also pushing to ban TikTok, citing worries over Chinese ownership and the potential misuse of user data for tracking and misinformation. 
• The RESTRICT Act (S. 686), introduced on March 7, aims to grant the administration powers to ban foreign technologies or digital products from countries considered foreign adversaries: China, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Russia, and Venezuela.

Arguments against TikTok ban

• In a letter to the Montana House of Representatives, free speech and civil liberties organizations argued a TikTok ban flouts the First Amendment.
• Keegan Medrano, policy director at the ACLU of Montana, said in a statement:

"With this ban, Governor Gianforte and the Montana legislature have trampled on the free speech of hundreds of thousands of Montanans who use the app to express themselves, gather information, and run their small business in the name of anti-Chinese sentiment."

Do you support a TikTok ban?

-Laura Woods & Emma Kansiz

(Photo Credit: Unsplash)