A Montana judge dismissed a TikTok ban before it could stop any viral videos. U.S. District Court Judge Donald Molloy ended the case over the legality of Montana’s TikTok ban, which was on pause since 2023. The ban’s dismissal follows a change in TikTok’s ownership structure.
TikTok and several Montana users filed lawsuits, claiming the ban violated First Amendment rights and overstepped state authority by addressing national security issues. The lawsuits were combined into a single case against the state, defended by Attorney General Austin Knudsen. A clause in the law, signed by Gov. Greg Gianforte, voided the ban if ByteDance sold a majority share to a non-Chinese company. This sale happened in January.
Montana’s TikTok ban, first of its kind statewide, stemmed from concerns over Chinese access to Americans’ data. In a statement, Knudsen praised the ownership transfer, saying, “President Trump, with his years of business and negotiation experience, worked diligently and succeeded in finding the right American company to purchase TikTok.” The state’s Department of Justice did not comment.
Despite overwhelming Republican support, Gianforte had concerns about legal challenges before signing the bill. Molloy blocked the ban’s enforcement in November 2023, ahead of its planned implementation in January 2024. Nationally, the federal government increased scrutiny of TikTok over security worries, with the Biden administration mandating app removal from government devices and Congress questioning TikTok’s CEO about data privacy.
In 2024, Biden signed a law banning TikTok unless ByteDance sold it within 270 days. TikTok briefly blocked U.S. users in January 2025, a day before the federal deadline, but Trump provided an extension for the sale. Trump extended the deadline four times in 2025, allowing TikTok’s U.S. operations to continue. The final deal closed in January 2026 with ByteDance retaining 19.9% ownership. Other significant investors include Oracle and Silver Lake.
The deal rendered Montana’s 2023 law void, as the legislation specified the ban would be nullified with ownership transfer away from a “foreign adversary.” However, some legal experts, like Timothy Edgar, argue the sale doesn’t mitigate data privacy concerns. Edgar, a cybersecurity expert, suggests that TikTok’s new ownership may result in less oversight and protection of user data.
Edgar emphasized that focusing on ownership rather than addressing potential data vulnerabilities could be misguided, noting that TikTok is just one of many potential security risks.
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