American judge puts TikTok ban on hold in first US state

The first outright ban on popular Chinese video app TikTok in a US state has been suspended by a court. The judge found an injunction against the corresponding Montana state law warranted.

The law passed in May most likely violates the US Constitution, he explained his decision on Thursday. This means that the law cannot come into effect until the lawsuits against it have been resolved.

The bill, signed by Governor Greg Gianforte, would ban Apple, Google and other download platforms from offering the app starting January 1, 2024.

The reason given was that this was to protect the personal information of Montana residents from the Chinese Communist Party.

TikTok users and the company went to court against the law.

The right to expression has probably been compromised

Judge Donald Molloy believes there is a good chance that they will prevail on the argument that a ban on the app violates the constitutionally guaranteed right to freedom of expression. A few years ago, then US President Donald Trump’s move against TikTok failed for similar reasons.

A spokesperson for Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen’s office, which defended the ban, noted that the ruling was preliminary and that “the analysis could change as the case progresses.”

TikTok, which has more than 150 million users in the U.S., is used by more than a third of Montana residents, according to the company.

The Beijing regime has access

TikTok is the only successful online platform in the West that does not originate from the US. There are concerns, especially in the US, but also in Europe, that the app could be misused by Chinese authorities to collect information about users. Governments of several countries and the European Commission have banned the use of TikTok on mobile phones at work.

TikTok always dismisses concerns and emphasizes that it does not see itself as a subsidiary of a Chinese company. Bytedance is 60 percent owned by Western investors. The company’s headquarters are in the Cayman Islands in the Caribbean.

Critics counter that the Chinese founders, with a 20 percent stake, retained control thanks to higher voting rights and that Bytedance has a major headquarters in Beijing.

(dsc/sda/dpa)