U.S. District Judge Donald Molloy said Thursday the ban on the app, whose ownership has ties to Communist-led China, “oversteps state power and infringes on the Constitutional right of users and businesses.”

The ban was scheduled to go into effect on Jan. 1, 2024.

“Despite the state’s attempt to defend (the law) 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,” Molloy wrote regarding the ruling, according to The Associated Press.

[State governments can ban the use of TikTok on its own devices and in its own offices, but it can’t ban it for private use. That not only conflicts with what is clearly interstate and international commerce (both federal jurisdictions), but also common sense. How did Montana expect to enforce the ban — by conducting phone inspections? This was an entirely performative effort, albeit in an arguably good cause, and turned into nothing but a waste of time and money. — Ed]