WeChat users in the US sued Mr. Trump for banning the Chinese messaging app
The plaintiff argued that
the ban violates their freedom of expression, freedom of religion and other
constitutional rights.
Several WeChat users in the
United States are suing US President Donald Trump in an attempt to block an
order they say would block US access to China's hugely popular messaging app.
The complaint filed on
Friday, August 21 in San Francisco, is being filed by the US WeChat Users
Alliance and others, saying they rely on the app to work, worship, and keep
contact with relatives in China. The plaintiffs say they are not
affiliated with WeChat or its parent company, Tencent Holdings.
In the lawsuit, they asked a
federal court judge to stop the execution of President Trump's decree, claiming
that the order would violate freedom of speech, freedom of religion and other
constitutional rights of US users.
On Saturday, August 22,
Michael Bien, one of the plaintiffs' attorneys, said:
“We think it is the benefit of the First Amendment to provide continuous access to that app and the features of that application for the Chinese-American community.”
President Trump on Aug. 6
issued a complete but vague ban on transactions with the Chinese owner of
WeChat and another popular app, TikTok, said they pose a threat to national
security, foreign policy and the economy of the United States.
Dual ordinances one per
application are slated to go into effect September 20, 45 days after they are
issued. The orders required US Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, who was
also named the defendant in the US WeChat User Union lawsuit, to identify the
transactions that were prohibited at the time.
It is not yet clear what
the decrees will mean for millions of US app users, but experts say they intend
to ban WeChat and TikTok from app stores run by Apple and Google
operating. That would make them harder to use in the US.
"The first thing we will be looking for is to postpone the implementation of penalties and sanctions - a reasonable amount of time between explaining what the rules are and punishing those who do not follow them."
Bien said.
TikTok, owned by Chinese
company ByteDance, said on Saturday that it plans to challenge the law against
Trump's executive order.
WeChat, which has over 1
billion users, is less famous than TikTok among Americans without a connection
to China.
Mobile research firm Sensor
Tower estimates the app has been downloaded about 19 million times in the US. It
is the vital infrastructure for Chinese students and residents in the US to
connect with friends and family in China as well as for anyone doing business
with China.
In China, WeChat is
censored and is expected to comply with content restrictions set by the
authorities. Internet monitoring group Citizen Lab in Toronto said WeChat
has tracked files and images shared abroad to aid their censorship in China.
Even so, the US WeChat User
Union complaint claims that losing access to the app would harm millions in the
US who already use it, saying it was the only app. has an interface designed
for Chinese speakers.
“Since the executive order, many users, including plaintiffs, have scrambled to find alternatives that fail. Now they fear that just by communicating with their families, they might be breaking the law and facing sanctions.”
According to the complaint.
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