23rd May, 2023
TikTok Inc. filed a lawsuit challenging the state of Montana’s new prohibition on using the Chinese-owned app, the first U.S state to do so.
TikTok claims the restriction, which takes effect on January 1, violates the company’s and its users’ First Amendment rights.
The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Montana, also claims the ban is preempted by federal law because it intrudes on matters of exclusive federal concern and violates the Commerce Clause of the United States Constitution, which limits states’ authority to enact legislation that unduly burdens interstate and foreign commerce.
Montana could impose $10,000 fines on TikTok for each violation, with extra fines of $10,000 per day if it violates the ban. Individual TikTok users are not penalised under the law. It is unclear how Montana would enforce a TikTok ban.
Senator Mark Warner, chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said the possibility of federal courts rejecting Montana’s ban made it even more critical for Congress to enact legislation he presented to give the president broad authority to ban or restrict TikTok and other foreign-owned applications.
TikTok claims hundreds of thousands of active users in the state, which has a population of approximately 1.1 million people.
According to the company’s lawsuit, it “has not shared, and would not share, U.S. user data with the Chinese government, and has taken substantial measures to protect the privacy and security of TikTok users.”
Five TikTok users in Montana filed a federal court complaint last week trying to overturn the state’s ban.
TikTok’s lawsuit names Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen, who is charged with enforcing the law. Knudsen’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Monday.
Emily Flower, a spokesperson for Knudsen, said the state was ready for lawsuits. “We expected legal challenges and are fully prepared to defend the law that helps protect Montanans’ privacy and security,” she said on Monday.
Reuters