Ban proposed fining TikTok $10,000 for each violation.
District Judge Donald Molloy recently blocked Montana’s state-wide ban on the use of TikTok, issuing a preliminary injunction to block the ban from going into effect.
Earlier this year, Montana introduced a ban on the use of TikTok, which would mandate a $10,000 fine against the company for every individual use of their video app within the state. Though many states and even the federal government have previously discussed a TikTok ban, this is the first legislation that would impose one.
Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen said that the ban was necessary to prevent the China-based company from gleaning sensitive data from American citizens. However, a group of Montana residents filed to block the ban in May, and Judge Molloy ruled in their favor, saying that the state ban “violates the Constitution in more ways than one” and “oversteps state power.”
After the decision, Attorney General Knudsen’s office said they were considering an appeal, and are looking “forward to presenting the complete legal argument to defend the law that protects Montanans from the Chinese Communist Party obtaining and using their data.”
As the Lord Leads, Pray with Us…
- For wisdom for federal judges as they hear cases regarding the Bill of Rights and Constitutional issues.
- For state governing officials as they endeavor to protect the privacy of their citizens against hostile foreign nations.
Sources: Reuters, CNBC
