WeChat survived in the US after a California judge stopped the US government from blocking the app. The judge blocked the government on the day the app was supposed to be banned. 

WeChat Lives 

After the US President ordered the ban of WeChat, a group of users filed a suit in court to stop the ban. The group had filed the case last August. Now, Judge Laurel Beeler of the Northern District of California heard their plea.

Turns out WeChat won’t be banned immediately, either. https://t.co/6Ma0LY5UmF pic.twitter.com/iVe9KRWVfx

— Gizmodo (@Gizmodo) September 21, 2020

The user group, called WeChat Users Alliance, also claimed that they had no links to WeChat or Tencent. The latter is WeChat’s parent company.

Judge Beeler granted the group’s motion for an injunction. In the decision, Beeler said that there were serious questions on the group’s First Amendment claim.  

US Government Response

The New York Times said that the US government could appeal to the Ninth Circuit Court, hoping to overturn the ruling. Moreover, on Sunday, the Department of Justice has begun reviewing Judge Beeler’s order.

In an interview, the Department of Commerce said that the ban would shut WeChat down in the US. The department had also said on Friday that it would ban users from downloading WeChat and TikTok.  

TikTok Gets a Break

However, TikTok had already signed a deal with Oracle and TikTok. The deal would give them a 20% stake in a US-based firm, TikTok Global. While ByteDance still owns 80% of TikTok Global, US investors own 40% of ByteDance itself, which could affect TikTok Global’s US operations. 

The post WeChat Lives Another Day After Court Ruling first appeared on Tekrati and is written by Irene Hawkins

After US President Donald Trump banned Chinese-owned apps TikTok and WeChat, a group of WeChat users sued the government. The user group railed against the President’s executive order banning people from making transactions with WeChat. While the group does not represent WeChat, they want to block the order from taking effect.  

WeChat vs. The US Government

According to the Wall Street Journal, the ban takes effect later next month. In response, the WeChat user group said the ban violates due process and free speech. Moreover, the user group said that the ban discriminates against Chinese-Americans. Chinese-speakers in the US use WeChat to talk to each other and share news, and they spend hours every day on the app.

Trump’s Order Against WeChat and TikTok

Trump’s order charged WeChat and TikTok for working as tools of the Chinese government to threaten US national security. However, The Verge reports that both WeChat and TikTok stressed they were innocent. 

WeChat users group sues Trump administration over ban it says is unconstitutionalhttps://t.co/q1jiV9cqnQ

— The Verge (@verge) August 23, 2020

WeChat and TikTok’s Response

TikTok also confirmed Saturday that it was also suing the US government over the executive order. After Trump had ordered TikTok to sell to a US company, Microsoft, Twitter, and Oracle are now racing to buy the app.

On the other hand, companies like Apple and Disney have opposed the WeChat ban. According to them, banning WeChat would pose problems for their operations. Around 1.5 million users in the US use WeChat. 

Around 1 billion Chinese people use WeChat in China. They use the app to shop, make payments, and make deals. The WeChat user group wanted the government to reveal the full coverage of the WeChat ban. 

The post Wechat Users Sue US Government Over Ban first appeared on Tekrati and is written by Irene Hawkins