A group of TikTok creators have filed a proposed class suit against Montana’s state attorney general over the state’s new ban of the controversial Chinese social media platform, claiming the ban violates the First Amendment.
Earlier this week, Montana became the first state to formally ban the app, prohibiting TikTok from being available in Google Play Store and Apple’s App Store within the state.
Samantha Alario, Heather DiRocco, Alice Held, Carly Ann Goddard and Dale Scout, who have half a million followers between them on the platform, have filed the lawsuit, saying the law violates the First Amendment, the due process clause of the 14th Amendment, and breached federal laws.
“The Act attempts to exercise powers over national security that Montana does not have and to ban speech Montana may not suppress,” the lawsuit says.
A spokeswoman for the Montana governor’s office said of the ban: “The governor has an obligation to protect Montanans and their individual privacy right.”
