Judge blocks Trump's WeChat restrictions

Neither TikTok nor WeChat were blocked in the United States on Sunday. While Donald Trump approved the TikTok and Oracle partnership, a federal judge in California temporarily halted the White House's efforts to ban WeChat in the United States, thus preventing this ban from taking effect at midnight on Sunday.

The move follows a complaint filed by a group of WeChat users in the United States, which argued that the ban violated their rights under the First and Fifth Amendments.

The Commerce Department ban downloading the popular Chinese messaging app WeChat was blocked before it went into effect on Sunday, according to an order.

The judge of San Francisco, Laurel Beeler, issued a court order preliminary at the request of a group of US WeChat users, who argued that the ban would violate the free speech rights of millions of Americans who s' serve it.

The app, which was supposed to disappear from American app stores on Sunday, has 19 million regular users in the United States and XNUMX billion worldwide.

On Friday, the Commerce Department explained how the WeChat and TikTok ban, which President Trump had threatened for months, would work. Starting at midnight on Sunday, American users should no longer be able to download apps from the Apple and Google app stores.

But it appears that a tentative agreement was reached on Saturday for a new TikTok entity, TikTok Global, in partnership with Oracle and Walmart, which is why the Commerce Department postponed the TikTok ban until September 27.

Trump backs TikTok and Oracle partnership

President Trump cited national security reasons for banning the apps, But TikTok and the WeChat user group said the president was trying to increase his chances of re-election by targeting China and Chinese companies. In his order, the judge ruled that the government had not provided sufficient evidence of a security threat.

"It is true that the government's overriding national security interest is important," the judge wrote. "But in this file, while the government has established that China's activities raise significant national security concerns, it has provided little evidence that its effective ban on WeChat for all US users addresses those concerns."

WeChat is the "only means of communication" for the Chinese-American community.

WeChat is an all-in-one mobile application that combines services similar to those of Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram, and Venmo.

The app is an essential part of everyday life for many people in China. It is also popular with Chinese students, Americans living in China, and some Americans who have personal or professional relationships in China. But the Justice Department also argued on Friday that WeChat users could switch to other apps or platforms.

A group of WeChat users, calling themselves the WeChat Alliance, has filed a lawsuit arguing that the ban violates their rights under the First and Fifth Amendments, as well as the Religious Freedom Restoration Act and the law. on administrative procedures. The group also argues that the law cited in the executive order banning WeChat does not give President Donald Trump the authority claimed in the executive order.

Demand also noted that the ban was potentially targeting Chinese Americans, as WeChat is "the main application that Chinese-speaking Americans use to participate in social life by connecting with loved ones, sharing special moments, discussing ideas, receiving breaking news, and engaging in political discussions and advocacy."

WeChat "serves as a virtual public place for the Chinese and Chinese-American speaking community in the United States and is (in practice) their only means of communication," the judge wrote in the ruling, dated Saturday and published on Sunday. early. Banning it effectively "prevents meaningful access to communication in their community and therefore constitutes a prior restriction to their right to freedom of expression."


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  1.   Fercho Pozdniakovo said

    Trump does not have valid arguments to demonstrate that China is indeed carrying out activities that threaten the integrity of users, but of course against the United States there is enough evidence of its criminal activity and espionage against the rest of the world, look at history so that you have the arguments valid.

    1.    I see said

      Trump simply defends his own and it seems perfect to me, the Chinese are taking the whole world, all governments would have to do the same as Trump. In that sense I applaud Trump.

  2.   Nonamed said

    what Mr Trump should do if he is a little consistent is force companies to release the software for "security" reasons.

    I think that the really dangerous app is WhatsApp, closed source, where do all the conversations go? Let's start there, by demanding the release of its code, that app is a real danger. (I do not use it)