The day after Montana’s total ban of TikTok became law, 5 creators who post content on the Chinese-owned social media app have jointly filed a lawsuit seeking to prevent the ban from taking effect.
The list includes a number of other items. The lawsuit is argued that Montana’s government is attempting to assert powers reserved for the federal government, and that the ban is a violation of the First Amendment of the U.S. constitution.
“The Act attempts to exercise powers over national security that Montana does not have and to ban speech Montana may not suppress,” the suit says.
“Montana can no more ban its residents from viewing or posting to TikTok than it could ban the Wall Street Journal because of who owns it or the ideas it publishes,” The suit says.
Filed by Samantha Alario, Heather DiRocco, Alice Held, Carly Ann Goddard and Dale Scout in the U.S. district court in Montana, the lawsuit names Austin Knudsen, Montana Attorney General, as defendant.
Representatives for the state of Montana didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment from .
The ban was signed into law by Gov. Greg Gianforte said he did so, “to protect Montanans’ personal and private data from the Chinese Communist Party.”
Montana had previously prohibited TikTok installation on government devices. Just as the U.S. Government has done with devices issued to federal workers. The new law is much more comprehensive in terms of its provisions. According to experts You can make it unenforceable, period.
It is illegal for Google Play or iTunes to sell TikTok to Montana residents. The ban says the app itself “may not operate” within Montana’s borders and threatens TikTok and parent company ByteDance with fines if they attempt to subvert it. The report suggests that even individuals who are caught using this app in Montana may be held accountable.
Critics point out that however, the law doesn’t explain How it will be implemented. Monitoring individual use of the app would require a massive surveillance apparatus that doesn’t exist in Montana and might itself be subject to constitutional challenges. Montana currently has no technology to block this app. The use of VPNs could be used to easily circumvent the ban, and anyone visiting Montana would simply disregard it.
In addition to the above-mentioned constitutional issues, According to experts TikTok being singled-out might be a sign of bias The new law is a Bill of Attainder.
These questions will not be answered for months, if ever. The ban will be in effect on January 1, 2024.
