TikTok on Monday filed a lawsuit challenging the state of Montana’s new ban on use of the Chinese-owned video app over security concerns.
The lawsuit, filed in Montana federal court, comes less than a week after the state become the first in the US to ban the app completely. President Joe Biden last year banned its use on federal government devices.
In the suit, the ByteDance-owned company that has taken the US by storm in recent years, argues the ban violates not only the First Amendment rights of the company, but its users as well.
Already pushed through by Governor Greg Gianforte, the ban goes into effect on January 1. The lawsuit maintains the ban goes against federal law, due to its prospective intrusion upon matters that are solely of the government’s concern.
Moreover, brass for the $75billion company wrote the ban comes in direct violation of the US Constitution – specifically a clause that limits the authority of states to enact legislation that negatively affects interstate and foreign commerce.
TikTok Inc on Monday filed a lawsuit challenging the state of Montana’s new ban on use of the Chinese-owned video app over security concerns. Pictured is the company’s US headquarters in Culver City, California
Already pushed through by Governor Greg Gianforte on Wednesday, the ban goes into effect on January 1 – and has already sparked intense debate and multiple lawsuits as to whether it is justified to bar citizens from using the application
Brooke Oberwetter, a TikTok spokeswoman, stood by these beliefs in a statement sent Monday.
‘We are challenging Montana’s unconstitutional TikTok ban to protect our business and the hundreds of thousands of TikTok users in Montana,’ Oberwetter wrote shortly after filing the federal suit in US District Court for Montana.
‘We believe our legal challenge will prevail based on an exceedingly strong set of precedents and facts.’
As previously mentioned, Montana is the first state to attempt to ban TikTok – a maneuver that has already resulted in multiple federal suits alleging unjust censorship – despite Bejing’s appalling record when it comes to free speech.
One of those suits, filed last week by five TikTok users who reside in the state and create content on the short-form app, also seeks to block the state ban – which was championed by Montana AG Austin Knudsen, and signed into law last Wednesday.
Montana Gov. Gianforte did the honors, signing legislation that will soo see TikTok fully banned in the western state.
What’s more, the law also makes it unlawful for TikTok – whose US headquarters is located in Culver City, California – to operate within state lines, and threatens persecution against app shillers such as Alphabet’s Google and Apple if they offer the app to users in Montana.
In the span of less than a week, the guidance has already proved polarizing – and is likely to face more challenges in regards to prospective free speech as the January deadline looms.
That said, Gianforte – a staunch Republican – has praised its privacy protections, alleging the law is the first step to ensuring the app is not being used for espionage purposed by Beijing.
‘The Chinese Communist Party using TikTok to spy on Americans, violate their privacy, and collect their personal, private, and sensitive information is well-documented,’ Gianforte said in a recent news release.
Sent last week, the governor’s statement celebrated the legislature as ‘the most decisive action of any state’, specifically when it comes to combating TikTok’s burgeoning sphere of influence.
TikTok, which has over 150 million American users, has faced growing scrutiny over concerns about potential Chinese government influence over the platform
Governor Greg Gianforte, a Republican, said the law will ‘protect Montanans’ private data and sensitive personal information from being harvested by the Chinese Communist Party’
TikTok issued a statement saying the law ‘infringes on the First Amendment rights of the people of Montana’ but the company has not yet said whether it plans to sue
Former President Donald Trump in 2020 was the first to try to quell the app’s American accension by barring new downloads of TikTok and Chinese-owned WeChat and other transactions, the for the most part prohibitied the use of the apps.
However, a series of court decisions blocked the bans from taking effect – leaving states like Montana to take a stab at limiting the application’s use themselves.
TikTok, meanwhile, maintains that the state has ‘banished TikTok, and just TikTok, from the State for purely punitive reasons, as evidenced by the States decision to single out Plaintiff for harsh penalties based on speculative concerns.’
Those concerns stem form the firm’s data security and content moderation practices, which for years have avoided federal scrutiny.
As a defendant, the lawsuit names Montana Attorney General Knudsen, who is charged with enforcing the law.
Knudsen’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment Monday, after the latest suit against him and the state were filed.