Case Detail
In May 2023, Montana passed S.B. 419 banning TikTok from operating within its borders and imposing liability on TikTok if anyone in the state uses it. Although S.B. 419 plainly states that it singles out TikTok because of its failure to remove certain protected speech from its platform, Montana sought to evade First Amendment scrutiny by arguing that the legislation is nothing more than a common consumer-protection measure addressing TikTok’s data practices. FIRE filed an amicus brief highlighting the pretense of Montana’s attempt to skirt constitutional constraints by characterizing its TikTok ban as a regulation only of nonexpressive conduct or “business practices.”