Social media company TikTok filed a lawsuit Monday to overturn Montana first ban in the country on the video sharing app, arguing the law is an unconstitutional violation of free speech rights and is based on “unfounded speculation” that the Chinese government can access users’ data.
TikTok’s lawsuit, owned by Chinese tech company ByteDance, is five after one filed last week content creator, He made similar arguments that the state of Montana had no authority to act on matters of national security. Both lawsuits were filed in federal court in Missoula.
Greg Gianforte signed the bill on Wednesday and the content creators’ lawsuit was filed hours later. The law is set to take effect on January 1, but cyber security experts say can be difficult to implement,
tiktok says Have not shared and will not share Has taken measures to protect the privacy and security of its users, including storing US user data and all US user data with the Chinese government in the United Statesaccording to the lawsuit.
Some lawmakers, officials from the FBI and other agencies are concerned about the video-sharing app Can be used To allow the Chinese government to access information about US citizens or to advance pro-Beijing misinformation that could affect the public.
Chinese law obliges Chinese companies to share data with the government for purposes that are deemed to involve national security. tiktok says This never happened,
“The Chinese Communist Party is using TikTok as a tool to spy on Americans by collecting the personal information, keystrokes and even locations of its users — and by extension, people without TikTok who are users. are affiliated with, information about them may be shared without them knowing. It,” Emily Flower, a spokeswoman for the Montana Department of Justice, said in a statement.
“We anticipate legal challenges and stand fully prepared to defend the law that helps protect the privacy and security of Montanans,” she wrote.
The federal government and nearly half of US states, including Montana, have banned TikTok from government-owned devices.
Montana’s new law bans the download of TikTok in the state. It will also fine any “entity” – an app store or TikTok – $10,000 a day for every time it offers someone “the ability to access the social media platform or download the app”. The penalty will not apply to users.
Discussions about the TikTok ban have been going on since 2020, when then-President Donald Trump attempted to bar the company from operating in the US through an executive order. stayed in federal courts, Congress Have also considered banning the app on security concerns.
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