ON THURSDAY A FEDERAL JUDGE BLOCKED MONTANA’S BAN ON TIK TOK FROM TAKING EFFECT NEXT MONTH — SAYING IT VIOLATES FREE SPEECH RIGHTS.
THE JUDGE IN THE CASE SAID THE STATE’S ATTEMPT TO IMPLEMENT A FIRST-OF-ITS KIND STATEWIDE BAN ON THE THE CHINESE-OWNED SOCIAL MEDIA APP “VIOLATES THE CONSTITUTION IN MORE WAYS THAN ONE.”
AFTER MONTANA PASSED THE BAN IN APRIL OVER CONCERNS OF CHINA’S ACCESS TO PERSONAL DATA —
TIKTOK’S PARENT COMPANY “BYTE-DANCE” – — AS WELL AS SEVERAL TIKTOK USERS — FILED LAWSUITS AGAINST THE STATE.
TIKTOK SAID IN COURT FILINGS THAT IT HAS NOT AND WOULD NOT SHARE USER DATA WITH CHINA AND THE COMPANY HAS TAKEN SUBSTANTIAL MEASURES TO ENSURE USER PRIVACY.
MONTANA’S ATTORNEY GENERAL’S OFFICE DEFENDED THE STATE’S BAN ADDING THAT THURSDAY’S RULING IS PRELIMINARY.