In August 2020, the Trump administration in the United States announced sweeping restrictions on the popular Chinese social media and messaging app WeChat (and also Tik Tok) citing national security concerns to bar any transactions with WeChat by any person or involving any property subject to the jurisdiction of the United States.
The administration claimed that WeChat offers China a conduit to collect data about American citizens and to censor the news and information shared by WeChat’s more than a billion monthly active users.
Though WeChat is not a very popular messaging app in the US, many use it to communicate with friends and family overseas – particularly those in China. As of August 2020, WeChat had 3.3 million active monthly users in the US. The WeChat app had been installed 22 million times through the Apple App Store and the Google Play Store
Even after the app ban, users who had the WeChat app already downloaded could continue using it, but if the app is kicked out of Apple Store or Google Play Store, then you won’t get the updates for the app, which would make the app more vulnerable. According to a court filing by US Justice Department, if you a user had already downloaded the WeChat app, she could still use the messaging, social media and payment app without penalty.
The scope of the ban raised a lot of confusion in the country and analysts were of the view that if the US government force Apple Inc to remove the WeChat app from their Chinese app store, it would deal a big blow to Apple and many other US companies operating in China. It is because Weixin, the Chinese name for WeChat, is used by millions of people in China to pay for their goods, food, pay bills, etc. Even in the US, employees of many financial firms conduct their business using the messaging app and WeChat compliance regulations are in place to ensure the integrity of the financial market.
Judge temporarily blocks the ban on WeChat
In September 2020 US Magistrate Judge Laurel Beeler in San Francisco temporarily blocked the US administration’s ban on WeChat that required Apple and Google to remove the app from their app stores. The lawsuit was filed by a group of WeChat users who weren’t affiliated with the company behind the app, Tencent Holdings.
The group filed a lawsuit that sought a restraining order from the court against the executive order of the President. In their suit, the WeChat users group argued that the executive order is a vaguely worded order that doesn’t provide any evidence to back up its claims that WeChat poses a threat to US national security.
US appeals court rejected immediate WeChat ban
In October 2020, the US appeals court rejected a request from the Justice Department to allow the government to immediately ban Apple Inc and Alphabet Inc (Google) from offering WeChat for download in US app stores. The three-judge panel of the appeals court said in its brief order that the government was not able to demonstrate it would “suffer an imminent, irreparable injury during the pendency of this appeal, which is being expedited.”
Earlier in the same month, US Magistrate Judge Laurel Beeler rejected the Justice Department’s request to reverse her decision that temporarily prevented the ban of the WeChat app.
The US appeals court had then placed the case in its January 2021 calendar.
Ban got skeptical review from US appeals court
In January 2021 the US appeals court took up the suit again, but the administration’s attempt to reinstate the ban on the WeChat app was met with skepticism by the judicial panel. The panel said that it is skeptical to overturn the decision of a federal magistrate judge who had granted a preliminary injunction to the WeChat users in the US who said the outright ban on WeChat is a violation of their right to free speech.
Circuit Judge Ryan D. Nelson said that the government’s attempted restriction of the WeChat app is intended to make the app completely disappear in the US, without providing a good alternative for millions of Chinese-Americans who use the app to communicate with their family, friends and business partners in China.
Circuit Judge Jay Bybee, asked whether the court shouldn’t also determine whether the administration overstepped its authority under emergency powers law it invoked, in addition to free-speech concerns.
The judges took the administration’s appeal under submission, without indicating how they would rule.
Conclusion
As of now, the matter is not completely settled and hence users can continue using WeChat in the US to connect with their friends, family and business partners. Financial firms in the US are eagerly waiting to see how the matter gets settled as their business depends a lot on communication through WeChat. Employees are often trained to make sure that they follow WeChat compliance regulations while doing business communication using the app.
The change that happened in the Federal administration in the US could have a say in the matter as well. Users must lookout to see how things pan out in the future.
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