Montana’s decision to ban video-sharing app TikTok starting in 2024 has been met with a lawsuit from five of the platform’s content creators living in the state.
The suit, filed in federal court Wednesday, argues Montana’s ban on downloading the app is an unconstitutional violation of free speech rights.
It also argues that the state doesn’t have jurisdiction over national security matters, which have been central to the discussion around a potential federal TikTok ban. Montana Governor Greg Gianforte, a Republican, said the bill prevents residents personal data from being harvested by the Chinese government.
The bill was signed Wednesday and is scheduled to take effect on January 1, 2024. Specifically, it would prohibit downloads of TikTok in the state and would fine any entity $10,000 per day for each time someone “is offered the ability” to access the social media platform or download the app.
TikTok said the Montana law violates users’ First Amendment rights, but a spokesperson declined to say whether the company was involved with the legal complaint, according to reports.
The five plaintiffs in the case are Montana residents, two of whom have more than 200,000 followers. The state is also home to famous science content creator Hank Green, who has more than 7.5 million followers.
In a TikTok posted Wednesday, Green argued that Apple and Google could simply pay the fines imposed by the law, which come out to $3.65 million per year.
“I would guess [that] is less than Apple’s apple budget,” Green said. “I think that Apple spends more money than that on apples for their staff to eat at the cafeteria.”
It’s also a drop in the bucket compared to Montana’s state budget.
“You could build a bridge,” Green said. “A small one.”
TikTok bans have been in the public conversation for years, and more than half of US states, including Montana, have prohibited the app on government devices. The federal government has done the same.
The Biden administration has previously threatened a federal TikTok ban if its parent company ByteDance doesn’t sell to an entity designated as a foreign adversary, a list that currently includes China, Russia, North Korea, Iran and Cuba.
Contact Andrew Kessel at andrew.kessel@proactiveinvestors.com
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