‘Extraordinary and unprecedented measures’: TikTok sues Montana over sweeping ban

TikTok sued Montana for imposing an outright ban on the app for users in the state, according to a complaint filed in federal court Monday.

Republican Gov. Greg Gianforte signed on Wednesday legislation that prohibitions TikTok operates “within the territorial jurisdiction of Montana” and prevents Montana users from downloading the mobile app from places like the Apple App Store or the Google Play Store, with a $10,000 fine for each violation of the measure. tiktok has archived sued to block that ban, arguing that the law violates the First Amendment, the Commerce Clause, and is a “proscription bill” under the US Constitution. (RELATED: Kristi Noem Bans Use of TikTok on South Dakota State Devices)

“The state has enacted these extraordinary and unprecedented measures based on nothing more than unsubstantiated speculation,” the lawyers for TikTok, owned by ByteDance, a company based in the People’s Republic of China, wrote. They added that the company “has not shared, and will not share, US user data with the Chinese government” despite China’s approval of a National Intelligence Law in 2017 that would apparently require ByteDance to provide any data it holds at the request of the government.

TikTok vs. Knudsen by Daily Caller News Foundation on scribd

The lawsuit states four legal reasons why the law should be prohibited. In addition to calling it a violation of First Amendment rights by “closing a forum of speech for all speakers on the app” and the Commerce Clause, claiming it “improperly burdens interstate and foreign commerce,” the company’s lawyers they say it is a “Bill of Attainder”, a law that targets an individual for a specific punishment, which is forbidden by the Constitution of the United States.

TikTok also argues that the Montana law should be struck down because it interferes with a review in progress of the company’s national security risk by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS). The ban would “necessarily disrupt and interfere with that process, which is currently underway,” the lawsuit says.

Gianforte said the law, which takes effect in 2024, was intended to “protect the personal and private data of Montanans from the Chinese Communist Party,” according to a report. cheep. The Montana move comes as federal lawmakers have filed legislation to ban TikTok in the United States, while President Donald Trump unsuccessfully tried to sell the company to an American owner, such as Oraclethrough a executive order in 2020.

The lawsuit, which was filed in the US District Court for the Missoula Division of the District of Montana, is independent of a lawsuit by various TikTok account holders, who use the app for commercial purposes, against the state in the same court. The defendant in both cases is Austin Knudsen, the Montana Attorney General.

TikTok and Gianforte did not immediately respond to requests for comment from the Daily Caller News Foundation.

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