Mont. AG’s Opening Brief Due Jan. 31 in His Appeal to Vacate TikTok Ban Injunction

The opening brief of Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen (R) is due Jan. 31 in his 9th U.S. Circuit Appeals Court appeal to vacate the district court’s preliminary injunction that blocks him from enforcing SB-419, Montana’s statewide TikTok ban (see 2401030007), said a time schedule notice Wednesday (docket 24-34). The answering brief of five TikTok users and TikTok itself is due Feb. 28, said the notice. The plaintiffs in the two consolidated cases against Knudsen 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 Jan. 1 effective date of SB-419 was “warranted.”