A federal judge in Montana on Tuesday blocked the state’s ban on TikTok, delivering another loss to critics of the Chinese-owned social media app.
Judge Dana Christensen’s ruling grants TikTok a temporary restraining order, meaning the ban will be in effect until the lawsuit challenging it goes to trial. The ban was set to go into effect on October 14, 2020.
The ban was set to stop state government from downloading, using, or having apps from China, including TikTok and We Chat. The ban applies to any state government from using the apps on their devices, as well as barring of any state agency from authorizing or contracting with a person who operates the apps.
In his decision, Christensen wrote that the state failed to prove it is likely to succeed on the merits, historically important to the state, or necessary to preserve the state’s sovereignty.
This is just the latest in a string of losses for the critics of China-owned apps. Earlier this month, a federal judge in Pennsylvania blocked a similar ban, which was set to go into effect on November 17.
