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 Jan. 1, saying it violated the free speech rights of users.
District Judge Donald Molloy issued a preliminary injunction to dam 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, didn’t immediately comment Thursday. The corporate sued Montana in May, searching for to dam the state ban on several grounds, arguing that it violates the First Amendment free speech rights of the corporate and users. TikTok users in Montana also filed suit to dam the ban.
The state attorney general’s office, which defended the ban approved by the legislature citing concerns in regards to the personal data of Montana users and potential Chinese spying, didn’t immediately comment.
![TikTok logo](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/tiktok-logo-pictured-outside-companys-20220016.jpg?w=1024)
TikTok said in a court filing it “has not shared, and wouldn’t share, US user data with the Chinese government, and has taken substantial measures to guard the privacy and security of TikTok users.”
Molloy, who was appointed to the bench by Democratic President Bill Clinton, found merit to quite a few arguments raised by TikTok in his opinion.
During an October hearing, Molloy questioned why no other state had followed Montana in banning TikTok and asked if the state was being “paternalistic” in arguing the ban was essential to guard the info of TikTok users.
![Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/2023-helena-mont-states-republican-11016719.jpg?w=1024)
Montana could have imposed fines of $10,000 for every violation by TikTok within the state however the law didn’t impose penalties on individual TikTok users.
TikTok has faced efforts by some in Congress to ban the app or give the Biden administration latest powers to impose restrictions or bar it, but those efforts have stalled in recent months.
Former President Donald Trump in 2020 sought to bar latest downloads of TikTok, but a series of court decisions blocked the effective ban from taking effect.