TikTok sues Montana over constitutionality of statewide ban
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Lawsuits were expected and lawsuits have arrived. TikTok is suing Montana over its decision to ban the popular short video app across the state starting in January 2024.
The suit alleges that the ban violates the First Amendment and rules governing interstate commerce, as well as laws like federal preemption, which mean that national security concerns should fall within the purview of the federal government.
"We are challenging Montanaâs unconstitutional TikTok ban to protect our business and the hundreds of thousands of TikTok users in Montana," TikTok, owned by China-based ByteDance (BDNCE), said in a statement.
Former President Donald Trump already sought to ban TikTok and force a sale of its U.S. business to an American company, and while a transaction with Oracle (ORCL) almost went through in 2020, the lawsuits piled up and an injunction was granted to prevent the app from being outlawed.
The Biden administration later revoked the planned ban, ordering a national security review in its place, but Chinese tensions and data privacy concerns eventually swept both sides of the aisle and recently led to a notable House hearing. However, Congress still passed a bill to outlaw TikTok on federal devices, as well as a probe from CFIUS and even proposed legislation to ban the app in the U.S. (note that all American social media networks are blocked in China).
Related TikTok rivals: Instagram Reels (NASDAQ:META), YouTube Shorts (NASDAQ:GOOG) (NASDAQ:GOOGL) and Snapchat Spotlight (NYSE:SNAP).
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