Mont. AG Appeals Injunction Blocking Statewide TikTok Ban to 9th Circuit

Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen (R) waited only until the first court date of 2024 to appeal to the 9th U.S. Circuit Appeals Court the district court’s Nov. 30 granting of a preliminary injunction blocking him from enforcing SB-419, Montana’s statewide TikTok ban, when it took effect Jan. 1 (see 2312010003), said Knudsen’s notice of appeal Tuesday in U.S. District Court for Montana in Missoula. The plaintiffs in two consolidated cases, including multiple TikTok users (docket 9:23-cv-00056), plus TikTok itself (docket 9:23-cv-00061), argued that SB-419 violates the First Amendment and the Constitution’s supremacy and commerce clauses. U.S. District Judge Donald Molloy’s opinion and order held that the plaintiffs “have shown a likelihood of success as to the merits of each claim,” and that a preliminary injunction on the effective date of SB-419 was “warranted.” Despite the injunction, Knudsen’s office said it was looking forward “to presenting the complete legal argument to defend the law that protects Montanans from the Chinese Communist Party obtaining and using their data.”