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US judge halts Montana’s TikTok ban from taking effect on January 1

  • District judge Donald Molloy has issued a preliminary injunction, saying the state ban ‘infringes on the constitutional rights of users’
  • During an October hearing, Molloy questioned why no other US state had followed Montana in banning TikTok

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A US judge has blocked Montana from banning the use of TikTok in the state. Photo: dpa
Reuters

A US judge late on Thursday blocked Montana’s first-of-its kind state ban on the use of short-video sharing app TikTok from taking effect on January 1, saying it violated the free speech rights of users.

US district judge Donald Molloy issued a preliminary injunction to block the ban on the Chinese-owned app, saying the state ban “oversteps state power and infringes on the constitutional rights of users”.

TikTok, which is owned by China’s ByteDance, did not immediately comment on Thursday. The company sued Montana in May, seeking to block the US state ban on several grounds, arguing that it violates the First Amendment free speech rights of the company and users. TikTok users in Montana also filed suit to block the ban.

The state attorney general’s office, which defended the ban approved by the legislature citing concerns about the personal data of Montana users and potential Chinese spying, did not immediately comment.

03:02

Nepal bans TikTok for ‘disturbing social harmony’, sparking dismay from thousands of users

Nepal bans TikTok for ‘disturbing social harmony’, sparking dismay from thousands of users

TikTok said in a court filing it “has not shared, and would not share, US user data with the Chinese government, and has taken substantial measures to protect the privacy and security of TikTok users”.

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