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US Challenges Injunction Against WeChat App Store Bans

VOA News

   The U.S. Commerce Department said Monday it is challenging a federal
   judge's injunction against its order that Apple and Google remove
   WeChat from their U.S. app stores due to data privacy and national
   security concerns.

   The department's original order, issued Friday, also included another
   Chinese-owned app, TikTok, and expressed the Trump administration's
   concerns about the way the apps collect user data and the potential for
   that information to be shared with Chinese government agencies.

   China has rejected the U.S. allegations of a security threat, and on
   Saturday condemned what it called "bullying" that violated
   international trade standards.

   U.S. Magistrate Judge Laurel Beeler responded Sunday to a request for
   an injunction from WeChat users by putting the Commerce Department's
   order on hold, ruling that the Trump administration's actions would
   restrict users' free speech rights under the First Amendment.

   WeChat has about 19 million active daily users in the United States.
   The service, owned by Chinese tech company Tencent, is popular with
   Americans who use it to communicate with family and friends in China.

   Video-sharing service TikTok earned a short reprieve from its part of
   the Commerce Department order after announcing an agreement to form a
   new company with U.S. tech giant Oracle and retailer WalMart together
   holding up to a 20% share.

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