WeChat Receives A Stay Of Execution From US Judge

We had recently reported that according to an announcement by the US Department of Commerce, Chinese apps such as WeChat were scheduled to be banned from US app stores this Sunday. However, it seems that WeChat has managed to escape that ban following a US judge’s decision to grant it an injunctive relief.

US Magistrate Judge Laurel Beeler in San Francisco had granted the injunction following WeChat users who filed a lawsuit. According to Beeler, she felt that the people who filed the lawsuit “have shown serious questions going to the merits of the First Amendment claim, the balance of hardships tips in the plaintiffs’ favor.”

She notes in her order that the ban would “burden substantially more speech than is necessary to serve the government’s significant interest in national security, especially given the lack of substitute channels for communication.” What this means is that for now, WeChat can still be downloaded from US app stores, although for how long more remains to be seen.

WeChat is a popular app over in China where other messaging apps are banned. It is also one of the primary ways that people from other countries communicate with their friends, family, and loved ones in China, as well as businesses who do business with China-based companies. The app boasts 19 million daily active users alone in the US.

Tyler Lee
Categories: General
Tags: Apps, China, Legal, wechat