- A federal judge temporarily blocked a Montana law that would ban TikTok from the state starting next year, saying the app had a strong chance of winning its legal challenge.
- The judge ruled that the law likely violated the free speech rights of TikTok and its users, and also interfered with the federal government's exclusive authority over foreign policy matters.
- The ban is seen as a legal test for a national ban of the Chinese-owned platform, something lawmakers in Washington are increasingly calling for.
A Montana law that would prohibit TikTok from operating in the state from next year was temporarily halted by a federal judge on Thursday, who said the popular video sharing app had a strong chance of succeeding in its legal challenge against the law.
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| Montana's ban would be the first to come into effect in the United States. Photo: Kirill KUDRYAVTSEV / AFP Source: Legit.ng |
US District Court Judge Donald Molloy granted a preliminary injunction to stop the ban until the case, which was filed by TikTok in May, is decided on its merits.
Molloy found that the Montana law likely violated the free speech rights of TikTok and its users, and also encroached on the federal government's exclusive authority over foreign policy matters.
"The current record leaves little doubt that Montana's legislature and attorney general were more interested in targeting China's ostensible role in TikTok than they with protecting Montana consumers," Molloy said in the ruling.
TikTok had argued that the unprecedented ban infringed on its constitutionally protected right to free expression.
The ban, signed into law by Republican Governor Greg Gianforte in April, is seen as a legal test for a national ban of the Chinese-owned platform, something lawmakers in Washington are increasingly calling for. The ban would make it a violation each time "a user accesses TikTok, is offered the ability to access TikTok, or is offered the ability to download TikTok."
Each violation is punishable by a $10,000 fine every day it takes place.
Under the law, Apple and Google will have to remove TikTok from their app stores. State political leaders have "trampled on the free speech of hundreds of thousands of Montanans who use the app to express themselves, gather information, and run their small business in the name of anti-Chinese sentiment," ACLU Montana policy director Keegan Medrano said after the bill was signed.
The law is yet another skirmish in duels between TikTok and many western governments, with the app already banned on government devices in the United States, Canada and several countries in Europe.