The IT Nerd

There’s yet another plot twist in the attempt by President Trump to ban TikTok and WeChat. A Federal judge has temporarily blocked Trump from banning the latter:

In issuing the preliminary injunction, Judge Laurel Beeler wrote that the plaintiffs — a group of US-based WeChat users who stand to be affected by Trump’s ban — had shown “serious questions” in their claim that the executive order threatens the users’ First Amendment rights. 

“The plaintiffs’ evidence reflects that WeChat is effectively the only means of communication for many in the community, not only because China bans other apps, but also because Chinese speakers with limited English proficiency have no options other than WeChat,” Beeler wrote.

Nor does the order escape First Amendment scrutiny under an easier standard known as intermediate scrutiny, the judge said, because the ban on WeChat does not provide enough evidence that it is narrowly tailored to resolve the US government’s national security concerns with respect to the app. “And, as the plaintiffs point out,” Beeler wrote, “there are obvious alternatives to a complete ban, such as barring WeChat from government devices, as Australia has done, or taking other steps to address data security.”

For many people of Chinese extraction, WeChat is the Internet. WeChat allows users to send messages, make mobile payments and use local services. But since it is a Chinese app, it must censor content the Chinese government deems illegal. In March, a report said WeChat was censoring key words about the coronavirus outbreak from as early as 1 January for example. Which is one of the reasons why Trump wants it banned. That an the fact that it’s a Chinese app and he’s anti-Chinese. We’ll see what Trump does in response to this, and what happens next. Watch this space.

A group of WeChat users have filed a lawsuit in San Francisco in an effort to stop the executive order that President Trump signed banning WeChat arguing that the executive order isn’t constitutional:

The lawsuit, filed by Chinese-American lawyers forming the U.S. WeChat Users Alliance, claims that Trump’s “vaguely worded” order is unconstitutional and violates rights to free speech, Bloomberg reported.

The lawyers called out Trump’s order for not defining what transactions with WeChat will be prohibited, leaving U.S. companies unsure whether they need to make fundamental changes to their operations, as well as for not providing concrete evidence on how the messaging app is a threat to national security.

The thing is, that the Trump administration is aware that a WeChat ban could have a devastating effect on US business:

The Trump administration, however, is said to be reaching out to U.S. companies in private, to clarify that they will still be able to do business with WeChat in China, according to a separate Bloomberg report, citing sources familiar with the matter.

The administration has realized that an all-out ban against WeChat may have a devastating effect on U.S. industries such as technology, gaming,  retail, and telecommunications, according to the sources. Apple is one of the companies that may be significantly affected by Trump’s order, as China accounts for about 20% of total iPhone shipments.

So if they’re aware of how devastating that this could be, why is the Trump administration pressing ahead? I think that Trump needs to show that he’s tough on China in an election year where he is trailing badly in the polls. And this along with the TikTok ban is the way he’s going to do that. Misguided as it may be.

My prediction: When this lawsuit and the one that is sure to come from TikTok hits the courts, Trump will lose. Badly. But IANAL