A group of WeChat users filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration on Friday in an effort to block an executive order that would effectively ban the app from use in the United States.
The lawsuit in US District Court in San Francisco aims to terminate an executive order issued by Donald Trump on August 7 that would bar US-based companies from doing business with ByteDance and Tencent, respectively, regarding Ticktock and Weaver. Is the owner. If the ban is enacted, the ban originally terminated use of both apps on September 20, but a subsequent executive order put a deadline for TicketK from 45 to 90 days to put the ByteDance offer into service. They expanded.
The lawsuit, the executive order reported by The Wall Street Journal, is unconstitutional, including a violation of WeChat users’ right to freedom of expression, as well as issues of due process and equal protection under the law. It was also alleged that the ban was targeting Chinese Americans illegally and who could use the app to communicate with Chinese citizens.
The lawsuit was brought by the US WeChat User Alliance and several other plaintiffs, including small companies, neither of which was a plaintiff directly associated with WeChat, nor the parent company Tencent. User alliances are alleged to be made up of users who rely on WeChat for commercial and personal communications.
“We think it would be unconstitutional to ban the app from being used,” says Michael Bell, the group’s attorney. If they remove WeChat from the market, the WeChat User Alliance will fight it.
The group hopes the lawsuit will force the Trump administration to provide more details about what the executive order may prohibit due to its vague words. In theory, the application could be uniformly restricted, although the text could only prevent any financial transaction from taking place.
The lawsuit isn’t just about an executive order that the White House should oppose. TeakTalk is believed to be introducing a file of its own in the near future, unconstitutional due to lack of procedures due to similar claims of this process.
For Apple, the WeChat ban could be a big problem, as analysts will likely cut global iPhone shipments by up to 30%. Apple has also held a call with other major companies in the US and urged the White House to reconsider its approach.
When asked if he was concerned about the impact of the WeChat ban on iPhone sales, President Donald Trump simply said “whatever.” He said what is good about the security of our country. “
