WASHINGTON TikTok Inc on Wednesday asked a U.S. judge to block enforcement of Montana state's ban on use of the Chinese-owned app before it takes effect on Jan. 1.

TikTok, which is owned by China's ByteDance and filed suit in May, asked U.S. District Judge Donald W. Molloy to issue a preliminary injunction to block the first-of-its-kind U.S. state ban on several grounds, arguing it violates the First Amendment free speech rights of the company and users.

(Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Himani Sarkar)