A federal judge on Thursday blocked Montana's ban on TikTok, finding it to be unconstitutional and "more interested in targeting China's role" in the app than protecting consumers.

In his preliminary injunction, U.S. District Judge Donald Molloy said that Senate Bill 419, signed into law in May, "oversteps state power and infringes on the constitutional rights of users and businesses."

Montana became the first U.S. state to impose a complete ban on TikTok amid concerns raised by the FBI and Congress that the Chinese-owned company posed a security and privacy risk to Americans because a user's personal data could be shared with the authoritarian Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The headquarters of ByteDance, the owner and operator of TikTok, was based in Beijing before moving to Singapore in 2020.

Signed by Republican Gov. Greg Gianforte on May 17, the ban was due to go into effect on Jan. 1, 2024.

In his order, Judge Molloy wrote: "Despite the State’s attempt to defend SB 419 as a consumer protection bill, the current record leaves little doubt that Montana’s legislature and Attorney General were more interested in targeting China’s ostensible role in TikTok than with protecting Montana consumers.

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