TikTok Inc Monday filed a lawsuit difficult the state of Montana’s new ban on using the Chinese language-owned short-video app.
ByteDance-owned TikTok argues the ban, which might take impact on Jan. 1, violates the First Modification rights of the corporate and customers.
The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court docket in Montana, additionally argues the ban is pre-empted by federal regulation as a result of it intrudes upon issues of unique federal concern and violates the Commerce Clause of the U.S. Structure, which limits the authority of States to enact laws that unduly burdens interstate and international commerce.
Montana is the primary U.S. state to aim to ban TikTok. Former President Donald Trump in 2020 sought to bar new downloads of TikTok and Chinese language-owned WeChat and different transactions, which the businesses stated would have successfully barred use of the apps, however a sequence of court docket selections blocked the bans from taking impact.
The corporate additionally argues the state “banishes TikTok, and simply TikTok, from the State for purely punitive causes, as evidenced by the State’s resolution to single out Plaintiff for harsh penalties based mostly on speculative issues about TikTok’s knowledge safety and content material moderation practices.”
Final week, 5 TikTok customers in Montana who create content material posted on the short-video app filed a lawsuit in federal court docket in search of to dam the state’s ban.
Montana Governor Greg Gianforte on Wednesday signed laws to ban TikTok within the state. The regulation makes it illegal for TikTok to function within the state and for the app shops of Alphabet Inc’s Google and Apple Inc to supply TikTok inside Montana.
TikTok’s lawsuit names Montana Lawyer Common Austin Knudsen, who’s charged with imposing the regulation. Knudsen’s workplace didn’t instantly reply to a request for touch upon Monday.