TikTok has filed a federal lawsuit against the state of Montana, alleging that the app was banned from 1any January 2024 “unlawfully violates a fundamental freedom” guaranteed by the First Amendment to the United States Constitution.
The suit, filed in Montana District Court, seeks to overturn the measure, which the state took last week, to block its implementation and declare it unconstitutional. The complaint is directed against the Attorney General of the State, Austin Knudsenwhich is responsible for enforcing the ban on the TikTok app from 1any January 2024.
Governor of Montana, Greg Gianfortesigned the first bill to ban the download of the app in the state last week, saying it did so “to protect the personal and private data of Montana residents from the Chinese Communist Party.”
In its complaint, TikTok claims that the ban uses “extraordinary and unprecedented measures based only on unsubstantiated speculation” and that it provides no evidence to prove that the app provides information to the Chinese government.
Legal action was widely expected after the ban was passed, as were critics, includingAmerican Civil Liberties Unionexpressed support for TikTok and feared the ban would allow lawmakers to “selectively monitor entire social media apps based on their country of origin”.
New Montana regulations would ban TikTok downloads in the state by fining any “entity” (such as the Google Play Store or the Apple App Store) $10,000 per day whenever someone is “offered the opportunity” to access or download an application. It is not clear if individual users will be penalized for downloading TikTok. It is also unclear what will happen to people who downloaded the app before the ban took effect. In a statement released after the adoption of this new measure, TikTok announce It wants to “stand up for the rights of its users” so they can “continue using TikTok to express themselves, make a living, and find community.” While Montana is the first state to completely ban TikTok, the majority of US states, as well as Congress, have banned the use of TikTok on government devices.
Last week, after the TikTok ban was passed, Greg Gianforte asked the state’s chief information officer to block social media apps from all foreign competitors on all government-provided devices or when connected to state internet networks, including Lemon8, which is owned by Russia’s ByteDance. – Telegram messenger, and WeChat, owned by the Chinese company Tencent.
This isn’t the first lawsuit filed against the state of Montana over the TikTok ban. Last week, five TikTok users also sued Austin Knudsen, alleging that the new measure violates First Amendment rights by suppressing free speech and that the state is trying to “exercise security powers.” patriotism,” which he doesn’t have. “Montana can’t stop its residents from viewing or posting on TikTok any more than it can ban Wall Street Journal says the lawsuit.
In total, Montana has it 200,000 users of TikTok, Jamaal Brown, a spokesperson for the social network, said in a statementNews agency. In addition, 6,000 companies Those from Montana are also using the app.
Translated article from the American magazine Forbes – the authors: Molly Bohannon and Anna Fajoy
<< اقرأ أيضًا: علاقات TikTok بالصين تتطلب ردًا جادًا من الولايات المتحدة >>>
