TikTok Wins Court Ruling Halting Montana’s Statewide Ban, as Judge Says Law ‘Likely Violates the First Amendment’
variety.comTodd Spangler NY Digital Editor TikTok users in Big Sky Country are free — for now — to keep watching short-form videos on the app in the new year.
A federal judge issued a preliminary injunction Thursday blocking Montana’s first-of-its-kind U.S. ban of TikTok in the state, ruling that the law set to take effect Jan.
1, 2024, likely was unconstitutional. The bill was signed into law in May 2023 by Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte, who said it would “protect Montanans’ private data and sensitive personal information from being harvested by the Chinese Communist Party.” TikTok — owned by Chinese internet giant ByteDance — has been a political football for several years, targeted by American lawmakers who are wary over its ties to China and how TikTok handles user data.
TikTok sued to overturn the Montana law, arguing that it violates the First Amendment, and has said allegations that the Chinese government could access data on TikTok users are unfounded.
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