TikTok users file lawsuit to block Montana ban
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[May 19, 2023]
By David Shepardson
(Reuters) -Five TikTok users in Montana who create content posted on the
short-video app filed a lawsuit in federal court seeking to block the
state's new ban on the Chinese-owned platform.
Montana Governor Greg Gianforte on Wednesday signed legislation to ban
TikTok in the state, effective Jan. 1. The five users seek to block the
law, which makes it unlawful for the app stores of Alphabet Inc's Google
and Apple Inc to offer TikTok within the state.
The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Montana late on Wednesday,
names the state's attorney general, Austin Knudsen, who is charged with
enforcing the law.
The TikTok users argue the state seeks to "exercise powers over national
security that Montana does not have and to ban speech Montana may not
suppress." The suit said users believe the law violates their First
Amendment rights.
"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 lawsuit said.
Emily Flower, a spokeswoman for Knudsen, said the state was ready for
lawsuits. "We expected a legal challenge and are fully prepared to
defend the law," she said.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2023/May/19/images/ads/current/guzzardos_sda_PROMGRAD_2023.png)
TikTok, which is owned by China's ByteDance, has faced growing calls
from U.S. lawmakers and state officials to ban the app nationwide over
concerns about potential Chinese government influence over the platform.
According to the lawsuit, the five plaintiffs, all Montana residents,
include a designer of sustainable swimwear who uses TikTok to promote
her company and engage with customers; a former U.S. Marine Corps
sergeant who uses TikTok to connect with other veterans; a rancher who
uses TikTok to share content about her outdoor adventures; a student who
is studying applied human physiology and shares content about her
outdoor adventures; and a man who shares humorous videos on TikTok and
earns revenue from the content he posts.
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TikTok logo is displayed on the
smartphone while standing on the U.S. flag in this illustration
picture taken, November 8, 2019. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/File Photo
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2023/May/19/images/ads/current/longview_lda_SFARM_2023.png)
On Wednesday, following the governor's signing of the law, Knudsen,
who, like Gianforte, is a Republican, called TikTok "a Chinese
Communist Party spying tool that poses a threat to every Montanan."
TikTok on Wednesday, shortly after the governor signed the bill,
said Montana's ban "infringes on the First Amendment rights of the
people of Montana by unlawfully banning TikTok," and said it will
"continue working to defend the rights of our users inside and
outside of Montana."
Gianforte said the bill will further "our shared priority to protect
Montanans from Chinese Communist Party surveillance."
TikTok has repeatedly denied that it has ever shared data with the
Chinese government and has said the company would not do so if
asked.
The suit is assigned to Judge Donald Molloy, who was appointed by
Democratic President Bill Clinton in 1995.
Montana, which has a population of just over 1 million people, said
TikTok could face fines for each violation and additional fines of
$10,000 per day if it violates the ban.
An attempt by former President Donald Trump to ban new downloads of
TikTok and WeChat through a Commerce Department order in 2020 was
blocked by multiple courts and never took effect.
(Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Leslie Adler and Anna
Driver)
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