Officials stand firm on their decision and plan to ban the short-form video app. However, it has only been a day since the statewide ban on TikTok in Montana, and the legislation is already facing legal matters.
TikTok Creators File a Lawsuit
Five content creators on the app have filed a lawsuit to oppose the official ban of TikTok in the state of Montana. As predicted by many reports, the issue lies with the violation of a US citizen's First Amendment right, which gives them the freedom of expression and speech.
The creators' lawyers say that Montana has no authority to "enact laws advancing what it believes should be the United States' foreign policy or its national security interests," as mentioned in Engadget, which also goes for banning something just because they think it's dangerous.
Legal challenges were to be expected, as Austin Knudsen, Montana's Attorney General, pointed out. He added that there are important issues where federal courts need to step in and answer the questions concerning the matter at hand.
This comes as the first legal matter that the state of Montana is facing following its approval of the statewide ban on the short-form video app. It's likely that it won't be the last as well, seeing as there are people who earn solely from the app.
Much like the legislation setting an example for outright bans in other states and even in the country, it also shows what kind of obstacles they may face with a big security move like banning a widely-used app in the US.
It also shows that even if the statewide ban is set to take effect nf the first day of 2024, it may be delayed if legal matters like this continue to interfere with the process. That also means that there's a real chance that the ban won't even be implemented.
Despite that, the US states are still making progress in trying to limit the access that TikTok has to US users' data. Several states have already implemented a block on the app for government-issued devices, which is a start.
Related: Former ByteDance Executive Reveals TikTok Provides Access to Chinese Government
Montana's TikTok Ban
The moment Governor Greg Gianforte signed the bill that aims to ban the app from all devices in Montana, it officially became the first state to do so. The governor claims that it was to protect Montanans' private and personal data from the Chinese Communist Party.
Operations of the app will be restricted within the borders of Montana. Should the app stores that host TikTok and the app itself violate the legislation, they will be facing a daily fine of $10,000 a day, as reported by CNN.
It is still seven months ahead before the law is implemented, and it's not a good sign that it is already challenged after a day. If the state is already facing issues like this, then it is quite likely that the countrywide ban will go through more obstacles on a bigger scale.
Related: Montana's Bill for TikTok Ban Signed by State Governor
