The Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes say Montana’s TikTok ban, if implemented, would overstep tribal sovereignty. The tribes filed a brief this week to join the legal battle over the ban.
The Salish and Kootenai Tribes side with opponents of the TikTok ban as the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals considers the 2023 law.
A federal district court last fall threw out a ban, saying it would violate free speech rights, as well as the federal supremacy clause of the Constitution.
The tribes say it would violate the nation’s right to issue its own rules and regulations on the Flathead Reservation.
The brief also said that social media plays an outsized role in disseminating official information from tribal governments. That’s because many people lack high-speed internet at home and largely rely on their phones.
A new federal law will ban the social media app if its China-based parent company doesn’t sell the app within a year. TikTok is suing the U.S. over that law.
