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| The United States appeals a judge's decision to ban the WeChat ban |
The US Department of Justice said on Friday it would appeal a judge’s decision to prevent the government from banning Apple and Google from downloading Chinese instant messaging apps (WeChat) from the US app store.
The government announced that it will appeal to the US Ninth Court of Appeals, issued by District Judge Laurel Piller on September 19, 2020. The ban bans applications from the US Department of Commerce, which also prevents further US transactions with WeChat. (Tencent) is a subsidiary of the company that may render the app unusable in the United States.
The Department of Justice previously stated that the Pillar Act was a mistake and that "the continued and unrestricted use of the Executive Authority (WeChat) mobile application poses a threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States."
Lawyers for the American App Users Alliance, the organization behind the legal challenge to ban WeChat, had previously questioned the urgency of the government's request for Baylor to prove its decision.
According to Piller, WeChat users who submitted the complaint raised "serious questions about the pros and cons of the first change." The First Amendment to the United States Constitution guarantees freedom of expression.
Analytics company Apptopia announced in early August that WeChat has an average of 19 million daily active users in the United States. This situation is common among Chinese and American students living in China, as well as some Americans who have personal or professional relationships in China.
The app is a comprehensive mobile app that, among other services, also combines instant messaging, social networking, and payment functionality. The so-called super apps are of crucial importance to daily life in China with its billion users.
On Sunday, a judge in Washington, USA, issued a similar injunction preventing the TikTok short video sharing app from being removed from the US app store.