Montana Governor Signs TikTok Ban Temporarily Blocked – Update

UPDATE, NOV. 30: A federal judge in Montana on Thursday blocked a nationwide ban on TikTok from taking effect on January 1.

Judge Donald W. Molloy said Montana “must act within the constitutional framework” and issued a preliminary injunction lifting the TikTok ban. He added a ban on the app that most likely violates the First Amendment and a clause that gives Congress the power to regulate commerce with foreign nations.

Today’s ruling temporarily prevents the first such ban on the popular video app in the country. Legal experts say no one will challenge today’s ruling in Montana.

The Supreme Court can consider legal challenges to state laws governing how social media content is moderated.

TO UPDATE: The first salvo against Montana lawmakers comes from five TikTok content creators. They claim that the law prohibiting the use of the application is an unconstitutional violation of the right to freedom of expression.

Montana residents filed their complaint in federal court in Missoula on Wednesday. They also argued that the state has no say in national security matters.

EARLIER: Montana is now the first US state to completely ban TikTok. Today, Republican Governor Greg Gianforte signed a measure banning downloads of the popular app in the state.

Offenders face a fine of $10,000 per day if a company provides the ability to download or access the TikTok platform. The fines do not apply to individual users.

The measure comes into force on 1 January 2024, but is being challenged in court. TikTok itself has not yet said whether it will go to court.

The governor made a strong case for a TikTok-free Montana.

“Today, Montana is taking the strongest action of any state to protect Montanans’ private data and sensitive personal information from collection by the Chinese Communist Party,” Gianforte said in a statement.

“We want to assure Montanans that they can continue to use TikTok to express themselves, earn a living, and find community as we continue to work to defend the rights of our users inside and outside of Montana,” he said. A TikTok spokesperson said in a statement.

The ACLU of Montana and NetChoice, a trade group whose members include Google and TikTok, also called the law unconstitutional.

Montana’s efforts are about more than just stopping the dance videos, animal behavior and food consumption that underpin the app’s services. Some officials have expressed concern that the Chinese parent company is using data and subtle propaganda to gain influence.

Gianforte also announced Wednesday that effective June 1, he will ban the use of all foreign adversary-related social media apps on state equipment and state-owned companies in Montana. This also applies to WeChat, whose parent company is headquartered in China; and Telegram Messenger, founded in Russia.