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1 1 (January 17, 2025)

handle is hein.crs/govesdo0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Montana's TikTok Ban Goes Before the Ninth Circuit Updated January 17, 2025 On November 30, 2023, a federal district court issued a preliminary injunction barring enforcement of a law banning TikTok's Montana operations. Without the district court's preliminary injunction, the Montana law would have become effective January 1, 2024. Montana appealed the district court's order to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (Ninth Circuit). As referenced in a previous Legal Sidebar, a number of states enacted some type of restriction of TikTok platform usage, but Montana's law (SB 419) represents the first attempted ban ofthis breadth among U.S. states per news reporting. Several months after the district court preliminarily enjoined SB 419, Congress passed the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act (P.L. 118-50) (PAFACAA), the provisions of which are discussed in another Legal Sidebar, as are legal actions challenging that law. The Ninth Circuit ordered a stay of the appellate proceedings regarding Montana's law until 30 days following the outcome of the PAFACAA litigation. On December 6, 2024, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit (D.C. Circuit) rejected all of TikTok's constitutional objections to the PAFACAA and denied TikTok's petitions. This ruling led TikTok to petition the U.S. Supreme Court for review. On January 17, 2025, in aper curiam opinion, the Supreme Court upheld the D.C. Circuit's ruling. This action paves the way for the Ninth Circuit to conclude its adjudication of the Montana law giving rise to some similar questions, but with different implications for state powers and federalism. Because the Supreme Court's adjudication upholds the federal ban of TikTok, many issues before the Ninth Circuit are likely moot. This Sidebar (1) briefly describes the preliminary injunction of SB 419, (2) discusses selected legal issues before the Ninth Circuit, and (3) highlights some topics that these legal challenges might raise for Congress. District Court's Preliminary Injunction of SB 419 Montana's TikTok legislation prompted substantial public commentary. According to the law's preamble, SB 419 supports the health and safety of Montanans by preventing TikTok's operation in the state and also expresses concerns about TikTok's parent company being subject to control by the People's Republic of China (PRC), gathering of user information, and dangerous content. (The broader policy issues related to the legislation are beyond the scope of this Sidebar.) Congressional Research Service https://crsreports.congress.gov LSB11166 CRS Legal Sidebar Prepared for Members and Committees of Congress

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