In recent hours, TikTok filed a lawsuit against Montana after the government of that state passed a law that would bar the use of the Chinese platform in demarcations.
Through a press release, TikTok spokesperson Brooke Oberwetter said: “We are challenging Montana’s unconstitutional ban on TikTok to protect our business and the hundreds of thousands of TikTok users in Montana. We are confident that our legal challenge will prevail based on an extremely strong set of precedents and facts.”
The law in question bars the popular Chinese platform from operating “within the territorial jurisdiction of Montana” and requires mobile app stores to exclude the app to residents of that state. It will come into force on January 1, 2024.
Under this understanding, the app stores as well as those responsible for TikTok could face fines of up to $10,000 per day and more for each time they are infringed. The law counts the following actions as an infringement: “Every time a user uses TikTok, every time they are offered the possibility to access TikTok and every time they are offered the possibility to download TikTok.” Is performed”.
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Predictably and following the trend of some civil liberties groups like the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) who have spoken out against this law, TikTok maintains that the new law approved in Montana is unconstitutional and violates the Constitution’s First Amendment. violates. United States that prohibits the making of any law which, among other things, infringes on freedom of speech or freedom of the press, or which limits the right to access information.
Furthermore, TikTok argued that it was not technically feasible to ban its service in Montana. In the same vein, TikTok assured that Montana would “block any user’s access to TikTok when they cross state borders, and for those users who wish to retain access to TikTok, They will be asked to adjust their plans accordingly.” In less than eight months, any resident, visitor or worker passing through Montana will not be able to download TikTok to their phone or mobile device, post videos to TikTok for others to view, or view any content on the platform. Will get.”
TikTok continues to fight to clear its name
The terms of the Montana law have not only aroused dissatisfaction with TikTok. On Thursday of last week, a group of content creators filed an independent lawsuit calling for the new rules in that state to be repealed. According to the creators’ group, the law is unconstitutional and violates their free speech rights while shutting down a major source of income.
In the framework of this complaint, in an interview with CNN, TikTok’s vice president of public policy, Eric Ebenstein, dismissed the Montana law by assuring that “national security concerns are within the purview of the federal government. Aadhaar is not within it. We think there is probably a reason why no other state currently has a similar bill. It is an outlier.”
While all this is happening, the truth is that TikTok continues to move forward in a plan called Project Texas that proposes to improve the security of user data in the United States and store it in a cloud provided and managed by Oracle. Which will also be a company. In charge of ensuring software security.
In mid-March, during a hearing before the United States Congress, TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew released few details about the initiative, which is one of the Chinese platform’s strongest cards to protect its stability in the US market. represents one.
This Tuesday, within the framework of the Qatar Economic Forum in Doha, Shou Zi Chew assured that Oracle has begun a review of its source code and said that “today, by default, all US data is already in the cloud service are stored in” the said US company .
In addition, the CEO of TikTok assured that his team is already working on the European version of Project Texas in collaboration with data centers located in Ireland and Norway.
