The U.S. Department of Justice today submitted a motion to the Federal District Court for the Northern District of California, requesting the presiding judge Lauren Beeler to revoke the preliminary injunction previously issued and allow the U.S. government to remove and block WeChat apps from Apple and Google Stores .
The U.S. Department of Commerce issued a specific implementation document on banning WeChat transactions last Friday (September 18), requiring WeChat to be removed from the Apple and Google App Stores in the U.S. starting at midnight on Sunday (September 20), local time. Payment functions in the United States and other related bans. This is the implementation of the executive order issued on August 6 by the U.S. Department of Commerce in accordance with Trump’s previous requirements to issue specific rules regarding the prohibition of WeChat transactions.
However, Chinese Americans spontaneously formed the US WeChat User Association (hereinafter referred to as the US WeChat Association) and filed a lawsuit against the US President and Secretary of Commerce in the Federal District Court for the Northern District of California on the micro-envelope killing order. After the documents issued by the US Department of Commerce, the US WeChat Association lawyers applied for an emergency hearing and successfully obtained a preliminary injunction issued by the judge on Saturday (September 19), preventing the Department of Commerce from implementing the WeChat ban. As the defendant’s attorney, the US Department of Justice has previously issued a statement clarifying that US users continue to use WeChat and do not need to bear legal responsibility.
A week later, the U.S. Department of Justice filed another application to the court today, requesting that the preliminary injunction be lifted, hoping to continue to block WeChat in the U.S. market. The US Department of Justice stated in the motion that the judge’s injunction was a mistake and emphasized that the executive branch has determined that WeChat poses a threat to US national security and foreign policy. The U.S. Department of Justice hopes to request Judge Biller to give a response no later than October 1 through the fast application channel. Attorney Wu Shengyang, a spokesperson for the US WeChat Federation, replied that they will respond to the motion of the Department of Justice as soon as possible, and hold a hearing and debate with the US Department of Justice again to safeguard the legal rights of Chinese to use WeChat.
In support of its argument, the US Department of Justice announced a 37-page memo dated September 17 by the Department of Commerce, which mentioned that WeChat collects and transmits sensitive personal data of US users and stores it in data centers in China and Canada. In addition, the US Department of Justice also submitted another confidential document to the court, which listed the US National Intelligence Agency’s assessment of the threat posed to WeChat.
The US-Microfederation explained that they had anticipated that the US Department of Justice would propose a motion and were ready to debate with the US Department of Justice in court again. If Judge Biller refuses to revoke the preliminary injunction, the U.S. Department of Justice will appeal to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, but no new evidence can be submitted during the appeal process. The US-Microfederation also introduced that as of the afternoon of September 21, they had raised more than $1 million in funds, enough to pay off the legal fees in August and September, so they no longer accept donations for the time being.
WeChat has tens of millions of users in the United States, but the core users are more than 5 million Chinese. Just as Japanese Americans are accustomed to using Line and Korean Americans are accustomed to using Kakaotalk, WeChat is also an essential communication tool for Chinese Americans. American Chinese not only use WeChat to obtain information and communication services, but also use WeChat to keep in touch with relatives and friends in China. Therefore, the US Micro-Envelope Killing Order infringed on the Chinese people’s right to freedom of speech sued the US President, arguing that the ban constituted discrimination against the Chinese community.
However, if Judge Biller cancels the preliminary injunction under the re-application of the US Department of Justice, then the US Department of Commerce can continue to implement the ban on WeChat. This means that American users cannot download WeChat from Apple and Google stores, and users who have already downloaded will not be able to get updates in the future, nor can they continue to use WeChat payment and other functions in the United States.
But it needs to be emphasized that the ban is limited to the US market, and other markets are not affected. The ban is limited to the distribution level. US users can continue to use WeChat on their mobile phones, but there is no payment function. The ban did not mention Tencent products such as the corporate version of WeChat or QQ. Tencent previously urgently changed the corporate version of WeChat to WeCom, seemingly to avoid “manslaughter” by the US government.
US users can continue to use WeChat as long as they don’t change their phones. But in the future, Apple and Google stores in the United States will no longer have WeChat; the functions that WeChat will update later will not be enjoyed by American users. If you change your mobile phone, there are two situations. Android users are relatively simple and don’t need to rely on Google Store at all, just go to the official WeChat website to download the APK and install it yourself.
Apple users can register their domestic Apple ID, switch to the Apple China App Store, and then download the WeChat app. But many Chinese have lived in the United States for many years, without a domestic mobile phone number, no Alipay, and no domestic bank card. Moreover, many old Chinese don’t know much about the operation of smartphones, and whether they can register for a domestic ID is a problem.
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