China News Service, September 21, report, local time on the 20th, San Francisco District Court Judge Laurel Beeler (Laurel Beeler) issued a preliminary injunction to prevent the US Department of Commerce from downloading WeChat (WeChat) executive order Effective at 23:59 on the 20th.
Image source: Screenshot of the Associated Press official website.
On September 18, the U.S. Department of Commerce announced that it would prohibit transactions related to WeChat and TikTok in the United States.
The US WeChat User Alliance subsequently filed a lawsuit against Judge Biller.
According to the Associated Press, Judge Biller stated that the actions of the U.S. government will affect users’ First Amendment rights. The U.S. Department of Commerce’s ban “obliterates all meaningful communication channels in the plaintiff’s community” and violates public interest.
She also believes that the specific evidence that WeChat constitutes a "national security threat" to the United States is "very limited."
The US WeChat User Alliance, which filed the lawsuit, stated that the ruling was an “important and difficult victory” for millions of WeChat users in the United States.
On the 20th, Tencent responded to the U.S. Department of Commerce’s announcement that it would ban Americans from downloading WeChat.
The picture shows a screenshot of Tencent's statement.
Tencent said in a statement that existing WeChat users in the United States may continue to use WeChat, but WeChat may not be able to acquire new users in the United States, and the quality of services provided by WeChat "may be negatively affected."
The statement also said that Tencent has been and will continue to negotiate with the US government and other US stakeholders to reach a long-term solution.
The picture shows a screenshot of Tencent's statement.
In addition to WeChat, TikTok has recently been "started" by the US government.
On the 19th, TikTok issued a statement saying that its parent company ByteDance has reached a principled consensus with Oracle and Wal-Mart in the United States. Based on this, the three parties will reach a cooperation agreement in compliance with the laws of China and the United States as soon as possible.
In response, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Commerce of China said on the 19th that the United States banned transactions with the mobile applications WeChat and TikTok on the grounds of "national security", seriously damaging the legitimate rights and interests of relevant companies and disrupting normal market order. Resolutely oppose this.
The spokesperson further pointed out that, without evidence, the US has repeatedly used national power to "hunt" and suppress the above two companies for unwarranted reasons, seriously disrupting the normal business activities of the companies and harming international investors The confidence in the US investment environment has disrupted the normal international economic and trade order.
Image source: Screenshot of the Chinese Ministry of Commerce website.
The spokesperson of the Ministry of Commerce also stated that China urges the US to abandon bullying, immediately stop wrongdoing, and earnestly maintain fair and transparent international rules and order.
If the US insists on going its own way, China will take necessary measures to resolutely safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese companies.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin also stated on the 17th that China urges the US to stop politicizing normal economic and trade cooperation and provide an open, fair, just, and non-discriminatory business environment for foreign companies to invest and operate in the US.