In its lawsuit, “Tik Tok” considered that this unprecedented ban contradicts the freedom of expression guaranteed by the constitution.
A spokesperson for the platform confirmed to AFP that TikTok is convinced that it can win this legal confrontation, relying on “a very solid set of precedents and facts”.
Last week, the state passed a law banning TikTok starting Jan. 1, 2024, in a move that other states could follow as well.
However, many experts in the field warn that lawsuits and technical hurdles can make law enforcement difficult.
Greg Gianforte, the Republican Governor of the Northwestern U.S. state, signed the law on May 17, citing his decision as “protecting the personal and private data of Chinese Communist Party Montanaans.”
TikTok belongs to the Chinese group ByteDance. Many members of the US Congress accuse this platform specializing in short and entertaining videos, used by 150 million people in the United States, of allowing Beijing to manipulate and spy on users, which its officials deny.
And “Tik Tok” indicated in the text of the lawsuit that “the State activated these exceptional and unprecedented measures on the basis of mere unfounded speculation”.
Last week, five app users filed a lawsuit in federal court, alleging the ban infringed on their freedom of speech.
In this lawsuit, as in the one brought by “Tik Tok”, the plaintiffs accuse the State of Montana of attempting to exercise national security powers that belong exclusively to the US federal government, and thereby violating freedom of expression.
And “Tik Tok” users saw in their lawsuit that “Montana has no right to prevent its residents from viewing or posting on Tik Tok, much as it has no right to ban (the newspaper) The Wall Street Journal because of its owner”. or the ideas he publishes.
The new law directs electronic app stores (via Apple and Google devices) to stop making the app available for download in Montana beginning January 1, 2024. Violating companies risk a fine of ten thousand dollars for each infringement day, but users will not. subject to possible sanctions.
The law also does not provide information on how to accurately determine the population of this sparsely populated state.
In addition to technical obstacles, the new law contains many elements whose legality can be challenged in court.
Decisions to ban TikTok have been made by numerous organizations and federal agencies in the United States and by the European Commission, including the BBC.
In light of growing feelings of hostility towards China in the West, the White House is discussing with Congress a series of bills to ban the entire network in the country, despite the failure of the former President Donald Trump to achieve this in 2020.
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