According to the Wall Street Journal and various other media outlets, California federal judge Laurel Bieler issued an order on the 20th seeking a preliminary injunction to prevent the U.S. Department of Commerce's executive order prohibiting the downloading of WeChat from taking effect at 2359 hours on the 20th. The Commerce Department issued the executive order on the 18th to prohibit WeChat-related transactions in the U.S. after the 20th. In light of the judge's ruling, the ban will not go into effect on the evening of the 20th, the New York Times said.
According to CNBC, California District Judge Laurel Beeler said in a 20-day order that the WeChat users who filed the lawsuit "have raised serious questions about the value of the First Amendment and have weighed the pros and cons in favor of Plaintiffs. According to the report, Beeler's preliminary injunction blocked the injunction from the U.S. Department of Commerce, which had no immediate comment, while the WeChat Users Union hailed the ruling as "an important and difficult victory for U.S. WeChat users.
The Associated Press said Judge Beeler's ruling was issued at the request of a group of WeChat users. Judge Beeler argued that the U.S. government's action would affect users' First Amendment rights, and that the ban on WeChat had erased their communication platform. The judge also found that the U.S. government's concrete evidence that WeChat posed a "national security threat" was also "very weak".
In her 22-page order, Judge Beeler agreed with the free-speech arguments raised by WeChat user groups and said she strongly believes "there is no viable alternative platform or application for the Chinese and Chinese-American communities," according to The Wall Street Journal.
The U.S. Department of Commerce said in a statement Friday (Sept. 18) that WeChat downloads will be banned in the U.S. starting Sept. 20.The Commerce Department has asked companies like Apple and Google to remove the apps in question from their domestic download platforms, but will not prohibit them from making both programs available outside the U.S. Previously, the WeChat Users Alliance applied to the court to obtain a temporary injunction preventing the U.S. government from banning individual users, businesses, and organizations from using WeChat in the United States.
Before the ruling was widely reported in the media, Tencent issued a statement on 20 October stating that existing WeChat users in the US may be able to continue to use WeChat, but that WeChat may not be able to gain new users in the US and that the quality of service provided by WeChat may be negatively impacted. "The Company has been and will continue to consult with the U.S. government and other U.S. stakeholders to reach a long-term solution,"
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