Montana on Tuesday, said that it will be appealing a U.S. judge’s ruling from November, which had stopped the state’s ban on the use of the TikTok short-video sharing app.
The state of Montana is appealing the decision to the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, according to a notification filed by Attorney General Austin Knudsen.
U.S. District Judge Donald Molloy issued a preliminary injunction on November 30 to prevent Montana’s ban on the Chinese-owned app, stating that the law “violates the Constitution in more ways than one” and “oversteps state power.” The ban was originally scheduled to go into effect on January 1.
Montanan TikTok users also launched a lawsuit last year to overturn the state legislature’s ban, citing worries about possible Chinese espionage and the personal information of Montana users.
Some in Congress have attempted to outlaw TikTok or grant the Biden administration the authority to impose limits or prohibit apps controlled by foreign entities, but these attempts have not progressed.
Only Montana has attempted to outright forbid the use of TikTok on any government-owned equipment, despite other states and the federal government prohibiting its use.
