HELENA, Mont. (AP) 鈥� Social media company TikTok Inc. filed a lawsuit Monday seeking to overturn Montana's on the video sharing app, arguing the law is an unconstitutional violation of free speech rights and is based on 鈥渦nfounded speculation鈥� that the Chinese government could access users' data.
The lawsuit by TikTok, owned by Chinese tech company ByteDance, follows one filed last week by five . They made similar arguments including that the state of Montana has no authority to take action on matters of national security. Both lawsuits were filed in federal court in Missoula.
Republican Gov. Greg Gianforte signed the bill Wednesday and the content creators' lawsuit was filed hours later. The law is scheduled to take effect on Jan. 1, but cybersecurity experts say it .
TikTok says it U.S. user data with the Chinese government and has taken measures to protect the privacy and security of its users, including storing all U.S. user data , according to the lawsuit.
Some lawmakers, the FBI and officials at other agencies are concerned that the video-sharing app to allow the Chinese government to access information on U.S. citizens or push pro-Beijing misinformation that could influence the public.
Chinese law compels Chinese companies to share data with the government for whatever purposes it deems to involve national security. TikTok says .
鈥淭he Chinese Communist Party is using TikTok as a tool to spy on Americans by collecting personal information, keystrokes, and even the locations of its users 鈥� and by extension, people without TikTok who affiliate with users may have information about themselves shared without even knowing it," Emily Flower, a spokesperson for the Montana Department of Justice, said in a statement.
"We expected legal challenges and are fully prepared to defend the law that helps protect Montanans鈥� privacy and security,鈥� she wrote
The federal government and about half the U.S. states, including Montana, have banned TikTok from government-owned devices.
Montana鈥檚 new law prohibits downloads of TikTok in the state. It would fine any 鈥渆ntity鈥� 鈥� an app store or TikTok 鈥� $10,000 per day for each time someone 鈥渋s offered the ability鈥� to access the social media platform or download the app. The penalties would not apply to users.
Chatter about a TikTok ban has been around since 2020, when then-President Donald Trump attempted to bar the company from operating in the U.S. through an executive order that was . Congress over security concerns.
Amy Beth Hanson, The Associated Press
