U.S. WeChat Users Alliance v. Trump

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U.S. WeChat Users Alliance v. Trump
US DC NorCal.svg
CourtUnited States District Court for the Northern District of California
Full case nameU.S. WeChat Users Alliance, et al. v. Donald J. Trump, et al.

U.S. WeChat Users Alliance (USWUA) v. Trump is a court case pending before the United States District Court for the Northern District of California. The plaintiffs won a preliminary injunction on September 20, 2020, blocking the Trump administration's ban order against WeChat based on concerns raised about harm to First Amendment rights and the hardships imposed on a minority community using the app as a primary means of communication.[1][2]

Background[]

WeChat is a highly popular social media app in China. Many American families depend on WeChat as a means of communicating with family and friends in China.[3]

On August 6, 2020, U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order, invoking the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, seeking to ban WeChat in the U.S. in 45 days, due to its connections with the Chinese-owned Tencent. This was signed alongside a similar executive order targeting TikTok (TikTok v. Trump) and its Chinese-owned ByteDance.[4] Following the EO, the Department of Commerce issued orders on September 18, 2020, to enact the ban on WeChat and TikTok by the end of September 20, 2020, citing national security and data privacy concerns.[5][6]

Plaintiff[]

The plaintiff is the U.S. WeChat Users Alliance is a non-profit. The alliance's trustees are described by the New York Times as including "several prominent Chinese-American lawyers". The group says it is not connected to Tencent.[2]

Proceedings[]

Magistrate Judge Laurel Beeler of the United States District Court for the Northern District of California issued a preliminary injunction blocking the Department of Commerce order on WeChat on September 20, 2020, citing the merits of the plaintiffs' First Amendment claims.[7] The U.S. Justice Department appealed this injunction on 2 October 2020, calling judge Beeler's decision an "error".[8] On October 23, judge Beeler said the new evidence presented by the U.S. Justice Department in early October did not change her mind regarding her injunction of the White House order.[9] On December 23, the Trump administration asked the court to drop the U.S. WeChat Users Alliance v. Trump case to follow through on its ban of WeChat.[10]

On 31 December 2020, the NYSE announced it would apply a White House order banning three Chinese telecom companies from US trading floors, including Alipay and WeChat Pay. Then, in early January 2021, Donald Trump issued an order to ban a total of 8 mobile apps on US soils, WeChat included, but the order would become effective under the Biden administration.[11][12]

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ "Trump administration's WeChat ban is blocked by U.S. district court". Tech Crunch. September 21, 2020.
  2. ^ a b "U.S. Judge Temporarily Halts Trump's WeChat Ban". New York Times. September 20, 2020.
  3. ^ "'It's So Essential': WeChat Ban Makes U.S.-China Standoff Personal". New York Times. September 18, 2020.
  4. ^ Arbel, Tali (August 6, 2020). "Trump bans dealings with Chinese owners of TikTok, WeChat". Associated Press. Archived from the original on 7 August 2020. Retrieved August 6, 2020.
  5. ^ Shepardson, David (2020-09-18). "EXCLUSIVE-Trump to block U.S. downloads of TikTok, WeChat on Sunday- officials". Reuters. Archived from the original on 20 September 2020. Retrieved 2020-09-18.
  6. ^ Kelly, Makena (2020-09-18). "Trump to ban US TikTok and WeChat app store downloads on September 20th". The Verge. Archived from the original on 20 September 2020. Retrieved 2020-09-18.
  7. ^ Shepardson, David (September 20, 2020). "U.S. judge blocks Commerce Department order to remove WeChat from app stores". Reuters. Retrieved September 20, 2020.
  8. ^ David Shepardson, U.S. government appeals judge's ruling to block WeChat app store ban, Reuters.com, 2 October 2020
  9. ^ Kim Lyons, Judge again blocks Trump administration push to ban WeChat in the US, Theverge.com, 23 October 2020
  10. ^ Joel Rosenblatt, Trump Wants WeChat Users’ Suit Challenging Restrictions Tossed, Bloomberg.com, 23 December 2020
  11. ^ Jeanne Whalen, NYSE will remove share listings of Chinese telecom companies as Trump moves to ban Chinese apps Alipay and WeChat Pay, Washingtonpost.com, 6 January 2021
  12. ^ Justin Sink, Jennifer Jacobs, Trump tries to ban transactions with Chinese payment apps, Fortune.com, 5 January 2021

External links[]

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