Montana TikTok ban: digital rights groups join the fight against “unconstitutional” bill
Montana is set to become the first US state to ban TikTok from all devices
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Digital rights advocate groups have officially joined the legal fight against a proposedMontana TikTok ban.
After being approved in May, the “unconstitutional new restrictions” are set to be enforced on January 1, 2024. This will make Montana the first US state to completely ban TikTok, making the use of aVPN servicea necessity to keep accessing the popular video-sharing app.
The social media company and five TikTok creators have decided to challenge the legislation’s lawfulness in court. Here’s how digital rights advocates are backing up their fight.
The case against Montana TikTok ban
The fate of TikTok, its creators, and viewers is on a ticking clock in Montana and so are citizens' rights to free speech and access to information. That’s why the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) filed anamicus briefon August 11 in support of the on-going lawsuit.
“Once again, Montana’s legislature seeks to unnecessarily insert itself into the daily life of ordinary Montanans,” said Alex Rate, legal director with the ACLU of Montana. “We will not stand idly by while the government adopts unconstitutional new restrictions on the ways that we communicate with one another.”
According to experts, imposing such a blanket imposition will make it impossible for users to speak and associate via TikTok. This is a clear violation of the First Amendment and “it should be halted,” said Patrick Toomey, deputy director of ACLU’s National Security Project.
“Many Montanans use TikTok to communicate with local and global audiences,” added David Greene, EFF’s Civil Liberties Director. “The state must not violate their rights by banning this speech platform.”
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EFF joined @ACLU & @ACLUMT to file a brief today challenging Montana’s unconstitutional TikTok ban. Many Montanans use TikTok to communicate with local and global audiences; the state must not violate their rights by banning this speech platform. https://t.co/rcqFIGnB5sAugust 11, 2023
Tensions between the US and the Chinese social media giant have reached a new high lately. A wave of provisionsforbidding its use on government devicesspread throughout the Western world at the start of the year. These were followed by a federal bill known as theRESTRICT Act(currently still under discussion) thought to be ableto fast-track a TikTok banfor all Americans.
Human rights campaigners and internet experts have long been calling the government to scrap such plans. From curbing people’s digital rights to surveillance, censorship, and online security risks, theconsequences of making TikTok illegalwill soon be a grim reality for people in Montana.
The amicus brief urges the court to see how the law “triggers an especially exacting form of First Amendment scrutiny.” Campaigners also highlighted how the provision will disproportionately affect minority groups, citing examples of how TikTok currently plays an “outsized role” in fostering solidarity online towards specific social issues.
EFF and ACLU are only the most recent actors to step in and back up the lawsuit seeking to block the Montana ban. On august 8, two major tech groups (NetChoice, a national trade association, and the Chamber of Progress, a tech-industry coalition)released a joint court filingstating that the proposed ban “ignores and undermines the structure, design, and purpose of the internet.”
While we hope that the court will keep in consideration experts' arguments, we invite readers to head on our page to learn how to accessTikTok with a VPNin case the ban will eventually come into force.
Chiara is a multimedia journalist committed to covering stories to help promote the rights and denounce the abuses of the digital side of life—wherever cybersecurity, markets and politics tangle up.She mainly writes news, interviews and analysis on data privacy, online censorship, digital rights, cybercrime, and security software, with a special focus on VPNs, for TechRadar Pro, TechRadar and Tom’s Guide. Got a story, tip-off or something tech-interesting to say? Reach out to chiara.castro@futurenet.com
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