TikTok sues Montana over ban as Chinese-owned app claims First Amendment rights ... trends now
TikTok Inc on Monday filed a lawsuit challenging the state of Montana's new ban on use of the Chinese-owned video app over security concerns.
The lawsuit, filed in Montana federal court, come less than a week after the state become the first in the US to ban the phone application completely.
In the suit, the ByteDance-owned company that has taken the US by storm in recent years, argues the ban violates not only the First Amendment rights of the company, but its users as well.
Already pushed through by Governor Greg Gianforte, the ban goes into effect on January 1. The lawsuit maintains the ban goes against federal law, due to its prospective intrusion upon matters that are solely of the government's concern.
Moreover, brass for the $75billion company wrote the ban comes in direct violation of the US Constitution - specifically a clause that limits the authority of states to enact legislation that negatively affects interstate and foreign commerce.
TikTok Inc on Monday filed a lawsuit challenging the state of Montana's new ban on use of the Chinese-owned video app over security concerns. Pictured is the company's US headquarters in Culver City, California
Already pushed through by Governor Greg Gianforte on Wednesday, the ban goes into effect on January 1 - and has already sparked intense debate and multiple lawsuits as to whether it is justified to bar citizens from using the application
Brooke Oberwetter, a TikTok spokeswoman, stood by these beliefs in a statement sent Monday.
'We are challenging Montana’s unconstitutional TikTok ban to protect our business and the hundreds of thousands of TikTok users in Montana,' Oberwetter wrote shortly after filing the federal suit in US District Court for the District of Montana.
'We believe our legal challenge will prevail based on an exceedingly strong set of precedents and facts.'
As previously mentioned, Montana is the first state to attempt to ban TikTok - a somewhat experimental maneuver that has already resulted in multiple federal lawsuits alleging unjust censorship - despite Bejing's tenuous record when it comes to free speech.
One of those suits, filed last week by five TikTok users who reside in the state and create content on the
