U.S. government appeals judge's ruling to block WeChat app store ban
CGTN
The messenger app WeChat is seen among U.S. flags in this illustration picture taken on August 7, 2020. /Reuters

The messenger app WeChat is seen among U.S. flags in this illustration picture taken on August 7, 2020. /Reuters

The U.S. Justice Department on Friday said it was appealing a judge's decision to block the government from barring Apple Inc and Alphabet Inc's Google from offering Chinese-owned messaging app WeChat for download in U.S. app stores.

The government said it was appealing the September 19 preliminary injunction issued by U.S. Magistrate Judge Laurel Beeler to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The injunction blocked the U.S. Commerce Department order, which would also bar other U.S. transactions with Tencent Holding's WeChat, potentially making the app unusable in the United States.

A U.S. spokesperson for Tencent did not immediately comment.

Lawyers for the U.S. WeChat Users Alliance, the group behind the legal challenge to the WeChat ban, said on Friday the department "has still presented no compelling national security interest to justify such an unprecedented ban" and will oppose the effort.

The group noted Tencent tried to negotiate a settlement with the Commerce Department and offered a number of mitigation measures to address data security concerns.

Beeler said WeChat users "have shown serious questions going to the merits of the First Amendment claim." The U.S. Constitution's First Amendment guarantees freedom of speech.

On Sunday, U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols in Washington issued a similar preliminary injunction to halt the U.S. app store ban on new TikTok downloads. Nichols has not decided whether to block other restrictions set to take effect on November 12 that could effectively ban the app's use, pending a series of court filings due by October 30.

 

Read more:

Tencent seeks 'long-term solution' as judge halts U.S. WeChat ban

Source(s): Reuters