The Trump administration has claimed that WeChat is a threat because Tencent is intertwined with the Chinese Communist Party, which can use the app to disseminate propaganda, track users, and steal their private and proprietary data. It’s a similar argument that the administration has used to target the TikTok app, owned by ByteDance Ltd., while also forcing a sale of that app’s U.S. operations.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Laurel Beeler in San Francisco issued a preliminary injunction on Sept. 19 — the day before the ban was to go into effect — at the request of a group of U.S. WeChat users. They argued the prohibitions would violate the free-speech rights of millions of Chinese-speaking Americans who rely on it. The app has 19 million regular users in the U.S. and 1 billion worldwide.
In Monday’s order, a three-judge panel said the administration hasn’t shown it will suffer “an imminent, irreparable injury” while the litigation plays out.
Even as Tencent gets a reprieve from the broader WeChat ban, the company may still face restrictions against the app’s payments services. U.S. officials have stepped up behind-the scenes talks about measures against WeChat Pay and Ant Group’s Alipay, people with knowledge of matter said earlier this month.
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