TikTok Requests Injunction Against Montana Ban

Facts

• Chinese-owned social media app TikTok on Wednesday requested that US District Judge Donald W. Molloy issue a preliminary injunction to stop Montana’s state ban of the platform, which is set to take effect Jan. 1.¹
• Montana Republican Gov. Greg Gianforte signed the first-in-the-nation ban on the ByteDance-owned company in May based on the notion that the app could be used to access information on US citizens or push pro-PRC misinformation — accusations that TikTok denies.²
• Previously in May, TikTok filed a lawsuit to stop the ban, specifically naming Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen, who would be responsible for enforcing the law when it takes effect.³
• Under the ban, TikTok and app stores could be fined $10K per day for making the platform available.⁴
• In asking for the injunction, TikTok, and a group of five content creators who also filed a request to the judge, are claiming that the ban would cause them irreparable harm while the case — which they believe they will win — proceeds.²
• It’s estimated that TikTok is used by more than 150M Americans, including 380K in Montana — more than one-third of the state’s population.³

Sources: ¹Reuters, ²Associated Press, ³Al Jazeera, and ⁴CNN.

Narratives

• Narrative A, as provided by Breitbart. TikTok is a purveyor of indoctrinating content that tracks American data and phone activity, and it should be banned across the US. While the Chinese company targets American kids with insidious content, it shows more respectable videos to children within the PRC under orders from the Chinese government. A national US ban must be instituted as soon as possible to protect American interests and defend the country from the propaganda and reach of foreign adversaries.
• Narrative B, as provided by Washington Post. Banning TikTok is clearly a violation of Americans’ right to expression. Not to mention, TikTok has become an important source of friendship and business partnerships that would’ve been impossible without the app. Taking away TikTok would be taking away Americans' livelihoods.

Predictions