TikTok CEO Says Montana Ban Is ‘Unconstitutional’

The CEO of TikTok said he was confident his company would triumph in a lawsuit against Montana after the state banned the Chinese-owned video-sharing platform over security concerns, Reuters reported.

"We believe that the Montana bill that was recently passed is simply unconstitutional," Shou Zi Chew said at the Qatar Economic Forum, hosted by Bloomberg.

TikTok sued Montana on Monday, claiming that the ban amounted to an illegal suppression of free speech.

The law, which was signed by Montana Republican Gov. Greg Gianforte last week, would reportedly cut off access for some 200,000 users and 6,000 businesses across the state, starting in January.

Lawmakers created the controversial bill over fears the Chinese government could access the data of users in the state without their knowledge or consent.

But TikTok's leadership said its partnership with U.S.-based cloud company Oracle protects American data and ensures it cannot leave the country. That claim has been disputed, based on leaked internal emails obtained by now-defunct BuzzFeed News.

"Today by default, all U.S. data is stored in the Oracle cloud service already," Chew said at the forum.

"The Chinese government never asked us for U.S. users' data and we will not provide even if asked," he added.

That claim has also been disputed. Earlier this month, a former top TikTok executive alleged in a lawsuit that the Chinese Communist Party "maintained supreme access" to data stored in the U.S.

Chew echoed the testimony he gave during a March Congressional hearing related to the platform's security. U.S. lawmakers have considered joining India in implementing a nationwide ban on the app, which is used by over 150 million Americans, though TikTok's singular popularity among young voters has made that politically challenging.

Congress has already passed a TikTok ban on government phones and devices, joining Australia, Canada, and the European Union.