SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH – Attorney General Sean D. Reyes joined an amicus brief, led by the State of Virginia, in Alario v TikTok. The case involves a challenge to the State of Montana’s recently enacted law, SB 419, which prohibits TikTok from being downloaded within its borders.
After SB 419 was passed by the Montana Legislature with bipartisan support and signed into law earlier this spring, TikTok and a group of TikTok users asked a federal judge to block the policy from taking effect. The coalition of States on the brief are supporting Montana’s defense of its law and asking the Court to deny the requested injunction.
In their brief, the States write that TikTok “has negative psychological effects on its users,” that “adolescents are particularly drawn to TikTok challenges and are thus susceptible to the associated harms,” that “TikTok has failed utterly to regulate its users and reduce the harm it imposes on adolescent users,” and that TikTok “demonstrates its willingness to continue harming American children.” Because of these arguments, the attorneys general urge the court to refrain from blocking “a law that is crucial for protecting some of Montana’s most vulnerable citizens.”
Joining Utah and Virginia on this brief were the States of Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Carolina, South Dakota, and Tennessee.
