A lawsuit over Montana’sfirst-of-its-kind ban on TikTok is working its way toward a hearing this fall. Tech industry trade groups and free speech advocates have filed arguments against the ban in recent weeks.
Four legal teams representing eight interested parties have filed legal arguments against the TikTok ban, as the District Court in Missoula prepares to decide the fate of the new law. Alex Rate, of the ACLU of Montana, is one one of those teams.
“This is a critical issue for our first amendment rights, and that’s why we decided we had no choice but to get involved,” Rate said.
The parties essentially fall into three groups: there are civil liberties groups like the ACLU of Montana; trade groups representing tech companies and app store providers; and legal nonprofits for journalistic protections.
None of the parties are actual plaintiffs in the case, those are TikTok itself and a group of creators on the video sharing app. But the groups now jumping into the legal proceedings all support the plaintiffs motion to strike down the ban, saying it infringes on the rights of free expression and free enterprise.
The court is set to hear arguments in the case in October, and Montana’s TikTok ban is scheduled to take effect in January 2024.