World Judge halts WeChat download ban in US-China tech battle

© Martin BUREAU The US order would have slowed WeChat down and made it unusable in the United States for videochats with family and friends

A US judge on Sunday blocked the government's ban on WeChat downloads, hours before it was due to take effect in an ongoing technology and espionage battle between Washington and Beijing.

The Trump administration had ordered a ban on downloads of the messaging platform WeChat as well as hugely popular video-sharing app TikTok, both owned by Chinese companies. Both bans have now been suspended.

Trump's ban on WeChat leaves many people, especially Chinese Americans, scrambling to find ways to stay in contact with loved ones in China

The US Commerce Department issued an order prohibiting downloads or updates to the Chinese messaging app WeChat starting on Sunday. WeChat will also be rendered unusable to US users, as internet hosting services are disallowed from "enabling the functioning or optimisation of the mobile application in the US."But on Friday, the US Commerce Department issued an order stipulating that beginning on Sunday, WeChat will not only become unavailable to download and unable to process payments, it will also be rendered unusable for US users. The order prohibits internet hosting services from "enabling the functioning or optimisation of the mobile application in the US.

US Magistrate Judge Laurel Beeler said the ban raised serious questions related to the constitution's first amendment, guaranteeing free speech. The Department of Commerce had announced a bar on WeChat appearing in US app stores from Sunday, effectively shutting it down.

A US federal judge on Sunday delayed the government's ban on WeChat downloads , hours before it was due to take effect. It was ordered amid an ongoing technology and espionage battle between Washington and Beijing. WeChat , owned by Chinese tech giant Tencent, is a messaging-focused

A California court ruling said it granted a "motion for a nationwide injunction against the implementation" of the government order on WeChat, with the judge citing concerns over free speech.

The order would have slowed WeChat down and made it unusable in the United States for video chats with family and friends, according to experts.

Owned by technology giant TenCent, WeChat has around 19 million active daily users in the US.

As President Donald Trump seeks a breakthrough with voters to win a second term in the November 3 election, he has increasingly put national security and his aggressive stance toward China at the center of his campaign.

© Olivier DOULIERY Donald Trump has often claimed, without providing evidence, that TikTok is collecting user data for Beijing

He regularly accuses Democratic opponent Joe Biden of weakness toward Beijing.

China slams US 'bullying', warns of action over TikTok, WeChat

China warns of necessary measures to safeguard interests of its companies after US bans downloads of TikTok and WeChat."China urges the US to abandon bullying, cease its wrongful actions and earnestly maintain fair and transparent international rules and order," the Chinese Ministry of Commerce said in a statement on Saturday.

A US judge on Sunday blocked the government's ban on WeChat downloads , hours before it was – US officials on September 18, 2020, ordered a ban on downloads of the popular Chinese -owned mobile applications WeChat and TikTok from September 20, saying they threaten national security.

A US judge on Sunday blocked the government's ban on WeChat downloads , hours before it was due to take effect in an ongoing technology and espionage battle between Washington and Beijing. The Trump administration had ordered a ban on downloads of the messaging platform WeChat as well

The president said Saturday that he had approved a deal allowing Silicon Valley giant Oracle to become data partner for TikTok to avert a shutdown of that app.

The deal, announced by the companies, includes Walmart as a commercial partner and would create a new US company named TikTok Global.

- National security threat? -

TikTok -- owned by China's ByteDance -- confirmed the Oracle agreement, which came as companies raced against the Sunday deadline.

The US Department of Commerce on Saturday announced it was postponing the ban on TikTok downloads until September 27, due to "recent positive developments."

Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross on Friday accused China of using the two apps "to threaten the national security, foreign policy, and the economy of the US."

WeChat is "mostly used by Chinese visiting or working here or by Chinese-Americans staying in touch with their relatives," said William Reinsch of the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington.

Judge blocks US attempts to ban China's WeChat

The ban on the Chinese-owned messaging and payments apps was to come in on Sunday night.US Magistrate Judge Laurel Beeler said the ban raised serious questions related to the constitution's first amendment, guaranteeing free speech.

A US judge halted the Trump administration’s ban on downloads of the Chinese -owned app WeChat early on Sunday, hours before it was due to take effect in an ongoing technology battle between Washington and Beijing. The Trump administration had ordered a ban on downloads of the

Judge halts Trump administration order banning WeChat from Apple and Google app stores. Beeler's preliminary injunction also blocked the Commerce order that would have barred other transactions with WeChat in the United States that could have degraded the site's usability for

That includes several hundred thousand Chinese students in the US, who use it for daily online conversations.

Trump has often claimed, without providing evidence, that TikTok and WeChat are collecting user data for Beijing.

In early August, he gave ByteDance until September 20 to hand over TikTok's US operations to an American company.

TikTok's brand of short, quirky phone videos has become a global phenomenon, especially among young people, with 100 million users in the United States alone.

China on Saturday condemned US "bullying," saying it violated international trade norms and that there was no evidence of any security threat.

China also launched its long-expected "unreliable entities list," seen as a weapon for Beijing to retaliate against the United States.

The Trump administration has used its own "entity list" to shut Chinese telecom giant Huawei out of the US market, in addition to the recent moves against TikTok and WeChat.

US officials have described Washington's crackdown as essential to safeguard against potential Chinese espionage through the platforms.

Judge Puts Trump's WeChat Download Ban on Hold

The California judge's ruling comes less than one day before a federal ban blocking downloads of the multi-purpose messaging app was set to take effect.Beeler's decision, filed in northern California's district court, responded to a lawsuit challenging the Trump administration's efforts to render WeChat essentially inoperable among U.S. users.

According to the US Treasury, the TikTok deal still needs to be finalized by the involved companies and approved by a federal national security committee.

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Video: How U.S. ban of TikTok, WeChat will impact Chinese users and U.S. users (CNBC)