TikTok Inc. filed a lawsuit on Monday challenging Montana’s new ban on the use of a Chinese short video app, Reuters reported.
TikTok, owned by ByteDance, says the ban, which will take effect on January 1, violates the company’s and users’ First Amendment rights.
The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Montana, also claims the ban interferes with matters that fall under exclusive federal jurisdiction and violates the U.S. Constitution’s Commerce Clause, which limits states’ power to enact laws that unduly affect interstate and foreign commerce. trade
Montana has become the first US state to try to ban TikTok. Former President Donald Trump tried to ban new downloads on TikTok and WeChat in 2020, but a series of court rulings blocked the bans from taking effect.
The company also claims that the state “bans TikTok, and only TikTok, solely for punitive reasons, as evidenced by the state’s decision to impose severe penalties on the plaintiff based on speculative concerns about TikTok’s data security and content moderation practices.”
Last week, five Montana TikTok users who create content posted on the short video app filed a lawsuit in federal court to block the state’s ban.
Montana Governor Greg Gianforte signed into law Wednesday banning TikTok in the state. The law bans TikTok from operating in the state and prohibits Google’s app stores, owned by Alphabet Inc and Apple Inc, from offering TikTok in Montana.
Source: Hot News
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