Montana’s attempt to ban TikTok has been denied by a U.S. judge.
The state passed a first-of-its-kind law in May, which prohibits residents from using the app, and hits violators with $10,000 in fines.
But TikTok sued the state shortly after, as did TikTokers residing in the state.
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U.S. District Judge Donald Molloy set a preliminary injunction on Thursday to block the state’s ban by saying that it “violates the constitution” and that it “oversteps state power.”
TikTok is owned and operated by China-based ByteDance.
The ban was instated to “protect Montanans from the Chinese Communist Party obtaining and using their data,” per the state’s attorney general office, an accusation lobbied by several lawmakers but something that TikTok has repeatedly denied is the case.
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A spokesperson for TikTok told Reuters that the company was thrilled that Molloy had “rejected this unconstitutional law, and hundreds of thousands of Montanans can continue to express themselves, earn a living, and find community on TikTok.”
The ruling, however, is still preliminary, according to a spokesperson for Montana State Attorney General Austin Knudsen, and “the analysis could change as the case proceeds.”
TikTok did not immediately respond to Entrepreneur‘s request for comment.
