Reuters reports that Montana's state-wide ban on TikTok has been blocked by U.S. District Judge Donald Molloy after stating it "infringes on the constitutional rights of users." The preliminary injunction comes roughly a month before the TikTok ban was set to take effect on January 1 of next year.
The New York Times reports that Molloy added reasons for his decision, stating that Montana might take the lead in safeguarding its citizens from damage but that it must "act within the constitutional legal context" and that the restriction "limits constitutionally protected First Amendment speech."
TikTok reportedly lauded at the decision, as per its spokesman, Alex Haurek, describing the pending regulation as indeed unconstitutional. Haurek added that with the ordered block on the ban, it would continue to allow hundreds of thousands of Montanans to use TikTok as a platform for self-expression, employment, and community building.
Montana's Department of Justice is reportedly looking forward as its spokeswoman Emilee Cantrell, stated that the analysis may alter as the case develops. The spokeswoman says that it looks ahead in presenting the full legal defense of the statute that shields Montanans from the Chinese Communist Party's acquisition and use of their personal information.
According to Reuters, Molloy, a Democrat nominated to the court by President Bill Clinton, has long thought TikTok's arguments against a first-ever state-wide ban has had a lot of merits.
In an October hearing, Molloy reportedly questioned why Montana was the only state to outlaw TikTok and questioned if the state was being "paternalistic" by claiming the ban was required to safeguard users' personal information.
TikTok's Efforts to Safeguard Data
In a court document, TikTok has reportedly stated that it has taken significant steps to safeguard the security and privacy of its users and has not shared or will share user data from Americans with the Chinese authorities.
NPR reports that with the assistance of Texas-based software behemoth Oracle, TikTok installed a new firewall that has prevented its workers stationed in China from accessing customer data in the United States.
All American data is stored on a server owned and operated by Oracle as part of the Project Texas, which is scheduled to be completed. Independent auditors also provide further control.
USA vs. China causes TikTok Scrutiny
The same report stated that according to national security analysts, the pending legislation and growing scrutiny on TikTok is attributed to the growing geopolitical tensions between the United States and China. Washington is described to becoming increasingly concerned about China's advancements in technology, particularly semiconductors, and its investments in artificial intelligence.
Additionally, supporters of limiting or outlawing TikTok in the United States cite Chinese national security rules that require private corporations to pass over information to Beijing authorities.
NPR states that these supporters are also pointing to a previous incident where the corporate owner of TikTok, ByteDance, acknowledged that it had let go of four workers, two of whom were based in China, after the former employees inappropriately obtained information about two journalists in an effort to track down an employee who had released a negative internal report.
