CDT Joins Amicus Brief Supporting Free Expression Rights of TikTok Users in Montana
On May 6, 2024, CDT joined an amicus brief with the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), ACLU of Montana, Electronic Frontier Foundation, Freedom of the Press Foundation, and Reason Foundation in Alario v. Knudsen in the Ninth Circuit. The brief explains how Montana’s S.B. 419, which bans TikTok in the state, would violate the free expression and First Amendment rights of TikTok users.
Earlier this year, the District Court correctly held that the Montana law was unconstitutional, and the state subsequently appealed. The amicus brief argues that banning TikTok is a prior restraint and that banning an entire platform clearly fails the constitution’s requirements for restrictions on speech. The brief also makes clear that, while national security is certainly an important governmental interest, the government may not simply offer bare assertions about protecting national security to justify broad speech restrictions.
Courts must carefully evaluate government actions to protect against national security threats to ensure they justify intrusions into Americans’ First Amendment rights.
CDT previously urged the Montana legislature to reject SB419, which would ban TikTok in the state and violate the First Amendment rights of thousands of Montanans that use the platform to share and access constitutionally protected information.
