MEDIA COVERAGE

Biden administration seeks a pause on TikTok, WeChat court fights

Published:  Feb. 11, 2021

(CNN)The Biden administration has asked two federal appeals courts to pause litigation over former President Donald Trump's attempts to ban TikTok and WeChat from the United States.

In a court filing Wednesday, the US government said the Biden administration seeks a pause while it conducts a review of the Trump administration's approach to the Chinese-linked social media company. TikTok declined to comment, but is not opposing the government's motion, according to the filing.

The administration filed a similar request on Thursday in a case over the future of WeChat, another app owned by a Chinese parent company, citing the same review. WeChat declined to comment.

Biden asks for pause in Trump’s effort to ban WeChat

Published:  Feb. 11, 2021

The Biden administration Thursday asked a federal appeals court to place a hold on proceedings surrounding the Trump administration’s attempted ban of the Chinese social media app WeChat, a day after it asked a different court for a similar delay involving a TikTok case.

US Distances Itself From Trump Attempts to Ban WeChat

Published:  Feb. 11, 2021

A day after it put a hold on a proposed ban of TikTok, the Biden administration is distancing itself from attempts by former President Donald Trump to ban the China-owned messaging app WeChat.

美国政府叫停微信海外版禁令

Published:  Feb. 12, 2021

当地时间11日，美国政府要求联邦法院暂停微信海外版WeChat的禁令，以便重新审查这款移动应用程序对美国国家安全的威胁。

U.S. appeals court rejects immediate WeChat ban

Published:  Oct. 26, 2020

A U.S. appeals court on Monday rejected a Justice Department request that it allow the government to immediately ban Apple Inc and Alphabet Inc’s Google from offering Tencent’s WeChat for download in U.S. app stores.

On Friday, a U.S. judge in San Francisco rejected a Justice Department request to reverse her decision preventing the WeChat ban sought by the U.S. Commerce Department in response to a lawsuit filed by WeChat users.

WeChat Ban Will Stay on Hold, Ninth Circuit Rules

Published:  Oct. 26, 2020

Finding no risk of incurable harm to national security, a Ninth Circuit panel on Monday rejected the Trump administration’s request to stay an injunction temporarily blocking its ban on the Chinese messaging app WeChat.

Court Rejects Trump Administration’s Request For Immediate Ban On WeChat

Published:  Oct. 26, 2020

A U.S. appeals court has denied the Trump administration’s request to immediately ban Chinese-owned app WeChat from smartphone app stores over national security concerns, backing a decision made by a California federal court judge who had previously blocked the ban.

US appeals court rejects gov't motion to stay preliminary injunction on WeChat ban

Published:  Oct. 26, 2020

A US appeals court on Monday rejected a Justice Department's appeal to immediately ban WeChat, a messaging, social media and mobile payment app owned by Chinese company Tencent, in the country.

According to judges for the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, the government had not demonstrated that it would "suffer an imminent, irreparable injury during the pendency of this appeal, which is being expedited."

US appeals court rejects Justice Dept's request for immediate ban on WeChat

Published:  Oct. 26, 2020

The WeChat users said the ruling will avoid an "unprecedented shutdown of a major platform for communications relied on by millions of people in the United States

Tencent Surges After U.S. Court Upholds Stay on WeChat Ban

Published:  Oct. 26, 2020

Trump administration loses bid to pause judge’s Sept. 19 order,

Tencent rises to an intraday record after the court’s decision.

Appeals court rejects immediate WeChat ban sought by Trump administration

Published:  Oct. 26, 2020

A US appeals court has decided that the China-owned messaging app WeChat will live to see another day.

A three-judge panel for the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals rejected a Justice Department request to ban Apple and Google’s app stores from offering the mega-popular messaging app, saying in its order that the Trump administration has not shown Americans would “suffer an imminent, irreparable injury during the pendency of this appeal.”

U.S. appeals court rejects Trump's WeChat ban, for now

Published:  Oct. 26, 2020

A U.S. appeals court today rejected a demand by the Justice Department to allow Trump to immediately prohibit Apple and Google from offering WeChat for download in their respective app stores. The popular app is owned by Tencent, in China.

U.S. appeals court rejects immediate WeChat ban

Published:  Oct. 26, 2020

A U.S. appeals court on Monday rejected a Justice Department request that it allow the government to immediately ban Apple Inc and Alphabet Inc’s Google from offering Tencent’s WeChat for download in U.S. app stores.

US judge denies request to remove China's WeChat from app stores

Published:  Oct. 26, 2020

A US appeals court on Monday rejected a Justice Department request that it allow the government to immediately ban Apple Inc and Alphabet Inc's Google from offering Tencent's WeChat for download in US app stores.

Judge Rejects Government Appeal On US WeChat Ban

Published:  Oct. 26, 2020

US judge rejects government appeal to reverse earlier decision allowing Chinese app WeChat to remain available in US app stores.

U.S. judge denies gov't motion to stay preliminary injunction on WeChat ban

Published:  Oct. 26, 2020

A U.S. judge from the District Court for the Northern District of California on Friday denied the government's motion to stay the preliminary injunction on banning WeChat, a messaging, social media, and mobile payment app owned by Chinese company Tencent.

U.S. appeals court rejects gov't motion to stay preliminary injunction on WeChat ban

Published:  Oct. 26, 2020

A U.S. appeals court on Monday rejected a Justice Department's appeal to immediately ban WeChat, a messaging, social media and mobile payment app owned by Chinese company Tencent, in the country.

WeChat ban: US appeal court rejects government request to immediately remove app from Apple, Google stores

Published:  Oct. 26, 2020

The US Justice Department requested that the appeal court allow the government to immediately ban Apple and Google from offering WeChat for download in the US

The three-judge panel for the court says the government had not demonstrated it would ‘suffer an imminent, irreparable injury’ pending the appeal

美九巡法院驳回司法部上诉 美国用户可继续使用微信

Published:  Oct. 26, 2020

10月27日，美国微信联盟会（简称“美微联会”）发布公告称，第九巡回法院驳回美国政府微信禁令上诉。

美法院驳回司法部上诉 阻止封禁微信行政令实施

Published:  Oct. 26, 2020

美国联邦第九巡回上诉法院26日驳回美司法部的上诉，维持之前加利福尼亚州北部联邦地区法院做出的叫停封禁微信行政命令的裁决。

九巡法院驳回司法部上诉，美国用户可继续使用微信

Published:  Oct. 26, 2020

美微联会公告显示，其律师团预判美国司法部将有可能在未来两天之内再次上诉、尝试叫停比勒法官的初始禁止令。

美国上诉法院再次阻止政府封杀WeChat 华人用户组织：正备战最高法

Published:  Oct. 26, 2020

在逼迫苹果和谷歌的美国应用商店下架WeChat这件事上，美司法部刚刚吃了第三次败仗。

27日，与美司法部打擂台的美国华人WeChat用户组织“美国微信用户联合会”（下称美微联会）则向观察者网表示，早已经预料到此次会赢，而美司法部很可能上诉最高法院，所以用户组织的律师团从上周开始就已经在起草应付最高法院的文件了：“我方已经严阵以待，不会给美国司法部任何机会。”

美国第九巡回法院驳回司法部上诉，反对“微信禁用令”

Published:  Oct. 26, 2020

当地时间26日，美国第九巡回上诉法院驳回了美国司法部要求推翻9月20日裁决的上诉，该裁决曾认定联邦政府禁止微信违反了言论自由。 

华人又赢一次? 未来3周将迎大结局

Published:  Oct. 26, 2020

美国时间 9 月 14 日，纽约大学电影系的一位同学在多个平台上传了一部短片，名字叫做《没有微信的第一天》。视频只有 2 分钟，讲述的事情也很简单，是 9 月 20 日，一个美国华人在无法使用微信进行转账之后，不得不放下手中的早餐跑去银行，然后再次回家时，已经天黑，剩下的早餐也已经凉了。这时候，她给父母发了一条消息，但也没有发送成功。

现在，美微联会 ” 粮草充足 “，对于接下来可能与美国司法部在地区法院、九巡上诉法院和美国联邦最高法院三处同时开战也做好了准备，” 微信禁令 ” 到底能否彻底失效，让我们也拭目以待。

对抗白宫微信禁令 华人律师：反违宪是爱国

Published:  Sep. 22, 2020

对抗白宫微信禁令 华人律师：反违宪是爱国。

对华人来说，封杀微信是歧视华人的行为，只有反抗才能赢得尊重，如果华人集体发声，赢的可能性就更大，这起诉讼是华人做出一个姿态，向世人和政府宣告，如果政府作出歧视行为，我们会反抗。 

美国微信用户联合会：若商务部上诉将继续应诉

Published:  Sep. 23, 2020

就在这一微信封禁令生效前数小时，美国加利福尼亚州北区联邦地区法院法官比勒（Laurel Beeler）就美国微信用户联合会（简称美微联会）发起的诉讼做出裁决，决定向商务部颁发的WeChat禁令实施细则发出临时禁止令。  

这场官司持续的时间尚难以预测。即便美国政府上诉且胜诉，原告方还可以就裁决结果继续上诉。因此，这将是一场长期的法律较量。 

叫停微信禁令！这群美国华人创下史诗胜利替腾讯把特朗普顶回去了

Published:  Sep. 21, 2020

只有魔法才能打败魔法美国华人用法律替腾讯
把特朗普的禁令顶回去了这是全美华人的一次胜利
有时候一些看似不可能的任务其实可以借力打力 

独家丨波折120小时：加州法院叫停美国政府微信禁令始末

Published:  Sep. 21, 2020

当地时间9月20日午夜前，美国数百万微信用户的心终于放了下来。第二天早上起来的时候，他们的微信仍将可以正常使用。当天上午，美国旧金山联邦法院发布了一道阻止特朗普政府在美国“全面封杀”微信的初始禁止令（Preliminary Injunction）。法官判决认为，8月6日的总统令及9月18日公布的商务部实施细则均将实际造成美国全面禁封微信的效果，有违反美国宪法第一修正案之嫌。

微信美国法律战第一阶段：法官、法院与第一修正案陷阱

Published:  Sep. 21, 2020

众人瞩目的微信美国（WeChat）法律战，第一阶段落幕。美国微信使用者联盟作为原告，赢得第一局，法官批准了对特朗普8月6日行政令的临时禁止令（Preliminary Injunction），即，原定于2020年9月20日的WeChat下架令，暂不实施。 

Federal court issues preliminary injunction halting administration’s ban of Chinese app WeChat

Published:  Sep. 21, 2020

The development means neither the proposed ban of WeChat nor one of TikTok will go into effect as scheduled.

A federal court has granted a preliminary injunction halting the Trump administration’s planned ban of Chinese app WeChat, in response to a plaintiff lawsuit saying the ban would harm their First Amendment rights. 

WeChat Ban Blocked by Federal Judge in Ruling Against Trump Administration

Published:  Sep. 21, 2020

Judge agrees with free-speech arguments raised by user groups of the popular Chinese-owned messaging and e-commerce app

A federal judge in California temporarily blocked the Trump administration’s executive order curbing Americans’ use of WeChat, upholding a motion from users of the popular Chinese-owned messaging and e-commerce app.

Trump's WeChat app store ban delayed by California judge

Published:  Sep. 20, 2020

The Chinese-based app WeChat was tossed a lifeline Saturday when a California judge halted the Trump administration's plan to ban the app from U.S. app stores effective Sunday. 

U.S. Judge Temporarily Halts Trump’s WeChat Ban

Published:  Sep. 20, 2020

The order is a setback in the president’s efforts to block a Chinese social media app that he has labeled a national security threat. The ban had been set to go into effect on Sunday night.

U.S. says WeChat users will not be penalized

Published:  Sep. 16, 2020

WeChat users will not face civil or criminal penalties even if the United States bans the Chinese-owned messaging app through other actions next week, the Justice Department said on Wednesday.

WeChat Users Won’t Be Targeted by Trump’s Order, U.S. Says

Published:  Sep. 16, 2020 

WeChat users who download the Chinese app for personal or business communications won’t be targeted by President Donald Trump’s executive order that will prohibit using the app for some transactions, the U.S. said.

For Chinese Americans, WeChat ban threatens to upend business and community

Published:  Aug. 27, 2020

Chinese Americans say they feel "targeted" by Trump's WeChat ban.

The Technology 202: New lawsuit against Trump highlights risks of blanket WeChat ban

Published:  Aug. 24, 2020 

U.S. WeChat Users Alliance, a non-profit established to fight the executive order that says it is not affiliated with WeChat’s parent company Tencent, and several other plaintiffs filed the lawsuit against President Trump and Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross over the weekend. The lawsuit claims the executive order was unconstitutional and that the Trump administration did not provide sufficient evidence to support claims that WeChat raises a national security threat. 

US WeChat users sue Trump over order banning messaging app

Published:  Aug. 22, 2020 

Some U.S.-based users of WeChat are suing President Donald Trump in a bid to block an executive order that they say would effectively bar access in the U.S. to the hugely popular Chinese messaging app. 

...

 “Since the executive order, numerous users, including plaintiffs, have scrambled to seek alternatives without success. They are now afraid that by merely communicating with their families, they may violate the law and face sanctions,” according to the complaint. 

Lawsuit Claims U.S. WeChat Ban Is Unconstitutional

Published:  Aug. 21, 2020 

Group of users of popular Tencent-owned app says Trump administration’s planned curbs violate civil rights, target Chinese-Americans

WeChat users sue to block Trump ban on Chinese app

Published:  Aug. 23, 2020 

A group of WeChat users is suing the Trump administration in an attempt to block enforcement of an executive order that would effectively ban the popular Chinese messaging app in the United States. 

WeChat Users Sue to Block Trump’s Ban of Messaging App

Published:  Aug. 21, 2020 

Users say Trump's order violate their constitutional rights,

Trump's order said to be too vague to know what it prohibits.

WeChat users sue Trump administration over US app ban

Published:  Aug. 21, 2020 

Complainants claim action will effect millions of Chinese-Americans and breaches First Amendment rights

“拖字诀”拯救微信？美微联会正式起诉特朗普！

Published:  Aug. 23, 2020 

美国微信用户联合会（美微联会）8月21日在北加州联邦地区法院正式起诉美国总统特朗普。诉状指出，特朗普8月6日颁布禁止“微信交易”总统令违宪、越权，并将对在美华人造成歧视性影响。

WeChat users sue Trump over app ban

Published:  Aug. 21, 2020 

WeChat users sued President Trump on Friday to overturn his executive order banning usage of the popular Chinese messenger app.

WeChat users group sues Trump administration over ban it says is unconstitutional

Published:  Aug. 23, 2020 

The president’s executive order barred all transactions with WeChat

US lawyers challenge WeChat ban

Published:  Aug. 22, 2020 

US WeChat User Alliance says President's executive order would cut ties to families and friends of 19 million Chinese Americans, hurt multinational business and violate parts of the Constitution; they want it blocked and rescinded.

WeChat Users Sue Trump for Banning Messaging Platform

Published:  Aug. 21, 2020 

The lawsuit claims that the White House has failed to provide evidence to support claims that WeChat compromises national security, but noted that the executive order was issued in the run up to the 2020 presidential election, "during a time when President Trump has made numerous anti-Chinese statements that have contributed to and incited racial animus against persons of Chinese descent.”

US-based WeChat users to sue over Trump's 'unconstitutional' ban

Published:  Aug. 21, 2020 

Multiple groups are challenging executive orders targeting Chinese apps 

User Coalition Fights To Keep Chinese App WeChat In U.S. Market

Published:  Aug. 17, 2020 

美国微信用户联合会创会发动人朱可亮律师，曹英律师，倪非律师接受美国全国公共广播电台关于为美国微信用户维权的采访

最新财新周刊：特别报道|特朗普封杀令黑云压城 怎样避免信息脱钩？

Published: 2020年8月17日

特朗普连发总统令，蓬佩奥发布净网行动，从底层通信到应用程序对中国技术公司发出封禁信号，如何应对？

美国微信用户联合会创会发动人朱可亮律师接受财新周刊 关于为美国微信用户维权的采访 

U.S. WeChat Users Alliance to File Lawsuit Against U.S. Government

Published:  Aug. 16, 2020 

Nonprofit organization U.S. WeChat Users Alliance plans to file a lawsuit against the Trump Administration who plans to ban WeChat. 

美國微信用戶維權 狀告總統封殺令

Published: 2020年8月14日

美國微信用戶聯合會創會發動人朱可亮律師接受鳳凰衛視鳳凰秀關於為美國微信用戶維權的採訪

【热点】特朗普将遭华人起诉？专业律师指微信禁令不合法！

Published: 2020年8月14日

美國微信用戶聯合會創會發動人朱可亮律師接受女侠章三希關於為美國微信用戶維權的採訪

Donald Trump has caused panic among millions of WeChat users 

Published:  August 13, 2020 

For all its sinister aspects, its loss to Chinese in America would be sorely felt

WeChat U.S. ban cuts off users link to families in China

Published:  August 7, 2020 

U.S. President Donald Trump’s ban on transactions using popular Chinese messaging app WeChat will cut ties to families and friends in China, millions of users in the United States fear, as they become the latest casualties in the standoff between the two nations.

‘Irreplaceable’: U.S. WeChat users struggle to imagine life without the app Trump wants to ban

Published:  August 12, 2020 

Since Trump signed the order, WeChat users have begun posting their contact information for other messaging apps and planning ways to keep in touch with older, tech-shy relatives in China. But WeChat is “irreplaceable,” said Shuyi.

“WeChat really is the most intimate form of connection for many of us,” Shuyi said.

WeChat is a lifeline for the Chinese diaspora. What happens now that Trump banned it?

Published:  August 12, 2020 

Cindy Wang’s whole life is on WeChat. 

For millions of people around the globe, and in swaths of the United States with concentrated Chinese populations — including Southern California communities in the San Gabriel Valley and Irvine, where Wang lives — WeChat is a way of life.

“We always use WeChat because everyone else uses it,” Wang said. “It’s like Facebook messenger but ten times better, ten times more sophisticated.”

Trump's WeChat Ban May Alienate His Chinese Supporters

Published:  August 8, 2020 

Not only is the app many Americans' primary means of communicating with China, it's also been the mobilizing arm of Chinese Trumpism.

The TikTok and WeChat ban: Why we are all losers

Published:  August 13, 2020 

Politics aside, the tussles compromise US-China as well as global trade for the fact that the two applications act as carriers for carrying out business transactions, including payments by the business community.

美国微信禁令：投入海外中国人群体的一颗“震撼弹”

Published: 2020年8月10日

不论是由于方便易用、网络支付、还是朋友圈所在等种种原因，对于世界各地的很多中国人来说，微信已不仅仅是一个简单的聊天工具，特别是在中国大陆的亲友们保持联系的最重要工具。

A WeChat ban will hurt ordinary citizens. There are better ways to hold China accountable.

Opinion by Times Wang and Yang Jianli

Published: August 12, 2020 at 1:04 p.m. EDT

Times Wang is the founder of North River Law PLLC, a law firm focused on litigation related to human rights. Yang Jianli, a former political prisoner of China, is founder and president of Citizen Power Initiatives for China.

Corporate America Worries WeChat Ban Could Be Bad for Business

Updated: Aug. 13, 2020 2:36 pm ET

Companies including Apple, Disney and Walmart participate in call with White House over action against China’s most important app

特朗普总统禁微信，支持和反对者各执一词

Published: 2020年8月13日 06:14 

上星期四(8月6日)，美国总统特朗普颁布行政命令，指出为应对国家紧急状态，有必要加强安全措施，从当日起45天后，美国开始禁止与微信相关的任何交易。这引发了支持的点赞，不满的吐槽。

美國微信用戶聯合會 公布告特朗普訴訟詳情

Published: 2020年08月11日 23:08

由五位華人律師發起的美國微信用戶聯合會日前發出的《關於發起維護美國微信用戶權益行動的捐款倡議書》在華人社區引起熱議，聯合會前晚公布案件籌備詳情，其中包括明確被告為特朗普總統和商務部長羅斯（Wilbur Ross）。

川普微信禁令 華裔律師要告

Published: 2020年08月10日 06:01

針對川普總統在6日頒發關於微信和TikTok的行政令，多位華裔律師認為該行政令違反了美國「憲法」和「行政程序法」，日前成立美國微信用戶聯合會(U.S. WeChat Users Alliance)，表示將代表美國微信用戶提告聯邦政府。

US WeChat users sue over Trump exec order

Published: 2020/8/9 22:53:40 

Rule of law in US ‘far less reliable than we thought’

China already has your data. Trump’s TikTok and WeChat bans can’t stop that.

Published: August 11, 2020 at 6:00 a.m. EDT 

Targeting these apps is just window dressing.

 Spotty executive orders, half-written in response to stunts by K-pop fans, won’t cut it. 

WeChat Users in the U.S. Fear Losing Family Links With Ban

Published: August 10, 2020, 3:44 PM EDT

WeChat has about 19 million daily active users in the U.S., according to analytics firm Apptopia. For some, the app is a way to stay connected to the elderly in the U.S. and abroad. “Young activists and community organizations led by Asian Americans also use WeChat to engage our elder and immigrant communities, since the translation tool is helpful for overcoming language barriers,” said Joyce Chang, a WeChat user from New York. “WeChat is the dominant tool that our older generation uses, and losing it would also be a loss of a bridge we use to connect with them.”

Techwar: Trump’s Wechat, Tiktok ban to face lawsuits

Published: Aug 11, 2020

The tech war is putting the White House on a collision course with US consumers