Montana’s first-in-the-nation ban on TikTok blocked by judge who says it’s unconstitutional

By AMY BETH HANSON
Associated Press

HELENA, Mont. (AP) — A federal judge has blocked Montana’s first-in-the-nation law banning the video-sharing app TikTok in the state while a legal challenge to the law moves through the courts. U.S. District Judge Donald Molloy says the ban “oversteps state power and infringes on the Constitutional right of users and businesses.” The ban had been scheduled to take effect Jan. 1. Montana’s Republican-controlled Legislature made the state the first in the U.S. to pass a complete ban on the app. The ban was based on the argument that the Chinese government could gain access to user information from TikTok. The app’s parent company is based in Beijing.