A group of TikTok users has sued the state of Montana in an attempt to reverse its plan to ban the app from January 1, 2024.
The complaint was filed Wednesday night in the United States District Court for the District of Montana, just hours after Montana Gov. states.
In court documents, the group of five TikTok users said: “Montana does not have the authority to enact a law that presupposes that the United States or its national security interests should have a foreign policy, nor does Montana have a mandate to do so.” Might ban the entire platform.” communications, based on their beliefs that any speech shared through that platform, even if protected by the First Amendment, is dangerous.”
He added: “Montana cannot ban its residents from viewing or posting on TikTok any more than The Wall Street Journal because of who it is or the views posted by it.”
US officials have long expressed concern that ByteDance, the owner of Beijing-based TikTok, could be subjected to interference by the Chinese government and therefore view the app as a national security risk. A former ByteDance executive recently claimed that the Chinese Community Party “maintained supreme access” to TikTok data stored in the United States while working for the company between 2017 and 2018. Pro-China content. Tiktok has always denied any wrongdoing.
While more than half of US states have already banned TikTok on federal devices, this week Montana became the first state to introduce legislation imposing a statewide ban. Companies such as Apple, Google and TikTok will be fined for allowing app downloads in the state, although those who continue to use TikTok will not be penalised. It remains to be seen whether other states will take steps similar to Montana’s, and whether more TikTok users will come forward and sue the state in an attempt to stop the controversial ban.
TikTok is a very popular app, and the company claims that it has 150 million users in the United States and over 1 billion users worldwide. But with lawmakers across the political divide pressing on the app and its creator, TikTok’s future in the United States remains unclear.
