Tiktok users sue ban in US state of Montana Alarm in Vatican: car races through checkpoint in courtyard

Just hours after China-developed video app Tiktok was banned in Montana, five users from the US state filed a lawsuit. “Montana can no more ban its residents from using and posting Tiktok than the Wall Street Journal can ban because of its ownership or the ideas it publishes,” a federal court official in Missoula said Wednesday night. The state is exceeding its jurisdiction if it issues such a prohibition with reference to national security or foreign policy reasons. Nor should Montana ban an entire platform just because the state considers some of the statements made there, which are protected by free speech, to be dangerous.

Tiktok belongs to the Chinese internet group Bytedance and is under strong political pressure in the US. President Joe Biden’s administration banned employees from using the app on mobile phones. An investigation has been underway for months that could lead to a nationwide ban on Tiktok if there is no change of ownership. The background is the concern that the Chinese authorities and secret services could collect information about Americans through Tiktok and influence them politically.

On Wednesday, Montana became the first American state to ban the video app, which is also increasingly seen as a security risk outside America – for example in the EU. The law, signed by Governor Greg Gianforte, prohibits download platforms from offering the app from January 1, 2024. The appeal to the court may delay the entry into force of the law. Users should not be penalized for keeping and using the app on their devices. In the northwestern state, however, Tiktok should no longer operate as a company. For every day the app was still available, the app store operators and Tiktok would have to pay a $10,000 fine. (oee/sda/dpa)