A judge in California blocked the Commerce Department’s ban on new downloads of the China-based messaging app WeChat, Reuters reported on Sunday.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Laurel Beeler said in her order that WeChat users demonstrated “serious questions regarding the merits of the lawsuit.”
The Commerce Department has clarified the bans on WeChat and TikTok that President Trump has been threatening for months: Starting as they come to an end at midnight on Friday, September 20, US users will no longer be able to download apps from the Apple and Google app stores.
It appears that a tentative agreement was reached on Saturday for a new TikTok entity, with the announcement TikTok Global which is part of a partnership with Oracle and Walmart, so the Commerce Department postponed the TikTok ban until September 27.
“I gave the deal my blessing,” the president said.
A group of WeChat users calling themselves the WeChat Alliance filed a lawsuit last month, arguing that the ban violates users’ rights to due process and freedom of expression.
The lawsuit noted that the ban may target Chinese Americans, since WeChat is “the primary app that Chinese speakers in the United States use to engage in social life by communicating with loved ones, sharing special moments, discussing ideas, receiving up-to-the-minute news, and participating in political discussions.”
Note that WeChat Alliance is not affiliated with the company in any official capacity.
Beeler’s order also blocked a Commerce Department order that would have blocked US transactions on WeChat.
Although the US government has identified “significant” threats to national security, there is “little evidence that its effective ban of WeChat for all users in the United States addresses these concerns,” Beeler wrote.
The Commerce Department did not immediately comment on Sunday.
