TikTok Inc. sued Montana over the first statewide ban of the popular app, saying the state has trampled free-speech rights based on a misguided view that Chinese ownership of the platform poses a national security threat to the United States.
The state’s Republican governor, Greg Gianforte, last week signed a measure that will prohibit the app’s download by the general public beginning next year.
“The state has enacted these extraordinary and unprecedented measures based on nothing more than unfounded speculation,” according to the complaint.