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NEW YORK (AP) -- TikTok is challenging Montana's first-of-its kind law that makes it illegal for people to use the social media app in the state. It's the second lawsuit since the ban was adopted.
Montana Republican Gov. Greg Gianforte signed the law Wednesday expecting a legal fight. The law, scheduled to take effect Jan. 1, 2024, also faces questions over whether it can be enforced.
Five TikTok users sued the state last week saying the law is unconstitutional. TikTok made similar arguments in its lawsuit Monday in federal court in Missoula.
Montana's rules are more far-reaching than restrictions on TikTok in place elsewhere, which include bans on government-issued devices in nearly half the states and within the U.S. federal government.
There are 200,000 TikTok users in Montana and 6,000 businesses that use the video-sharing platform, according to company spokesperson Jamal Brown.
Here's what you need to know:
Why is Montana banning Tiktok?
Proponents of the law in Montana claim the Chinese government could harvest U.S. user data from TikTok and use the platform to push pro-Beijing misinformation or messages to the public.
That mirrors arguments made by a bipartisan group of lawmakers in the U.S. Senate, as well as the heads of the FBI and the CIA, all of whom have said TikTok could pose a national security threat because its Beijing-based parent company ByteDance operates under Chinese law.
Critics have pointed to China's 2017 national intelligence law that compels companies to cooperate with the country's governments for state intelligence work. Another Chinese law, implemented in 2014, has similar mandates.
TikTok says it has never been asked to hand over its data, and it wouldn't do so if asked.
What does
TikTok argue?
The lawsuit filed Monday by TikTok, which is owned by Chinese tech company ByteDance, says the new law violates the Constitution's right to free speech. It says the law is based on unfounded speculation that the Chinese government could access users' data.
"The state cites nothing to support these allegations," the company's attorneys wrote. "The state's bare speculation ignores the reality that (TikTok) has not shared, and would not share, U.S. user date with the Chinese government."
Emily Flower, spokesperson for the Montana Department of Justice, said the legal challenges were expected. She said the Chinese Communist Party was using TikTok as a tool to spy on Americans by "collecting personal information, keystrokes, and even the locations of its users."
The case could serve as a testing ground for the TikTok-free America many national lawmakers have envisioned.