Donald Trump’s WeChat ban may face temporary halt because it is too vague
- Judge says she is willing to grant preliminary injunction requested by app’s US users but has not issued final decision
- WeChat is so integral to Chinese and Chinese-Americans’ lives that ban would be like ‘losing a limb’, group claims
President Donald Trump’s executive order that could ban Chinese-owned WeChat in the US may face a delay as a judge is considering putting it on hold temporarily.
US Magistrate Judge Laurel Beeler said at a hearing Thursday she is willing to grant a preliminary injunction at the request of the US WeChat Users Alliance because Trump’s order is too vague. The judge did not issue a final decision on the request.
Trump’s August 6 order prohibits unspecified transactions related to WeChat and its parent company Tencent Holdings. The Commerce Department is set to provide details about which specific transactions will be off limits for Americans by Sunday, when the order is to go into effect.
WeChat is a messaging, social media and electronic payment app that is used by over 1 billion people around the world. The US alleges that the Chinese Communist Party can use the app to spread disinformation, censor news critical of China and steal users’ private and proprietary data.
03:07
Stop offering ‘untrusted’ Chinese apps like TikTok and WeChat, Washington urges US tech companies
According to the WeChat users group, Trump’s order would sunder the primary and often exclusive channel many US residents use to communicate with family and friends in both China and the US.