Montana TikTok ban co-author eager to see bill passed and tested in courts

The Attorney General of Montana stated that he is hopeful that the statewide ban on TikTok, which he endorsed and helped author, could set a legal precedent for a national ban on the social media platform.

The state of Montana is set to vote to pass a statewide ban on TikTok due to its privacy breaches and affiliations with the Chinese Communist Party. The bill, known as SB 419, has been passed by the state Senate and is currently under deliberation in the House this week. Montana Republicans are hoping to be the first in the nation to pass an outright ban on TikTok, which also faces legislative threats in Congress. However, critics argue that the bill violates freedom of speech.

Montana’s Attorney General Austin Knudsen, who is a Republican, said that the free speech concerns are “an interesting legal question,” and that he is eager to see the legislation face litigation after enactment, stating “I think this needs to go to the courts. I think this is a really, really novel, interesting area of undeveloped jurisprudence that we need the courts to step into.”

Knudsen’s office was involved in the creation of the legislation, and he noted the importance of social media as a “town square.” He argued that such a case could deal with whether a company like TikTok should be considered a private company or a public utility, an argument that echoes claims made by conservatives regarding the need to reform Section 230, a law that protects websites from being held liable for content posted by users.

A coalition of left-leaning free speech groups has spoken out against Montana’s proposed ban. In a statement, Caitlin Vogus, deputy director of the Free Expression Project at the Center for Democracy & Technology, said, “Banning TikTok in Montana would raise serious First Amendment concerns and is not the appropriate way to protect the privacy of user’s data or respond to content on the app that lawmakers disapprove of.”

Congress is considering multiple bills that could limit TikTok within the United States. Senators Josh Hawley (R-MO) and Marco Rubio (R-FL) have proposed full-on bans on TikTok. A bipartisan group of senators has introduced the RESTRICT Act, a bill that would provide additional powers to the Commerce Department to review transactions with tech companies operating out of foreign nations of concern like Russia or China. The White House has also threatened to ban TikTok if its parent company, ByteDance, does not divest its interests in the app.

Knudsen said he was skeptical that Congress could pass one of the many proposed bans but said Montana’s ban would be upheld unless the White House successfully got China to divest from TikTok. Montana’s state Senate passed SB 419 on March 2, and the House is considering the bill this week. If passed, it will be sent to Governor Greg Gianforte (R-MT) to be signed into law. The governor has already passed a statewide ban on installing TikTok on government devices and has regularly criticized it for its Chinese connections.

Despite excitement among Republicans, local businesses are not happy with the potential ban, claiming that it would diminish their returns in advertising.