|
Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen filed a notice that the
state is appealing the ruling to the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of
Appeals.
Montana's ban had been set to take effect Jan. 1 but U.S.
District Judge Donald Molloy on Nov. 30 issued a preliminary
injunction to block the ban on the Chinese-owned app, saying
Montana's law "violates the Constitution in more ways than one"
and "oversteps state power."
TikTok and Knudsen's office did not immediately comment. Molloy
had previously said preliminary pretrial statements were due by
Jan. 16.
TikTok users in Montana also had filed suit last year to block
the ban approved by the state legislature that cited concerns
about the personal data of Montana users and potential Chinese
spying.
TikTok said in earlier court filings it "has not shared, and
would not share, U.S. user data with the Chinese government, and
has taken substantial measures to protect the privacy and
security of TikTok users."
Molloy said Montana sought to exercise foreign policy authority
held by the federal government and the state's action was too
sweeping.
TikTok has faced efforts by some in Congress to ban the app or
give the Biden administration powers to impose restrictions or
bar foreign-owned apps, but those efforts have stalled.
Many states and the U.S. government have barred TikTok on
government-owned devices, but only Montana has sought to
completely bar the app's use.
Former President Donald Trump in 2020 sought to bar new
downloads of TikTok and Chinese-owned WeChat, but a series of
court decisions blocked the effective ban from taking effect.
(Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Sandra Maler and
Stephen Coates)
[© 2023 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
Copyright 2022 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may
not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.
|
|
