Judge Again Blocks Trump Administration Push to Ban WeChat in the US
upstart writes in with an IRC submission:
Judge again blocks Trump administration push to ban WeChat in the US:
A judge in California has rejected a request from the Department of Justice to reverse a previous decision allowing WeChat to remain active in US app stores. US Magistrate Judge Laurel Beeler said new evidence the government presented did not change her opinion about the messaging app, owned by Chinese company Tencent app.[sic] WeChat will remain active in US app stores for the time being.
"The record does not support the conclusion that the government has 'narrowly tailored' the prohibited transactions to protect its national-security interests," Beeler wrote in her decision. The evidence "supports the conclusion that the restrictions 'burden substantially more speech than is necessary to further the government's legitimate interests.'" President Trump issued an executive order in August to ban WeChat, invoking the Emergency Economic Powers Act and the National Emergencies Act.
[...] Beeler's earlier order blocked the Commerce Department ban of US transactions on WeChat. And while the government claimed it has identified "significant" threats to national security, Beeler did not appear persuaded. She said in her September 20th order that a group of WeChat users calling themselves the WeChat Alliance had demonstrated there were "serious questions" about whether the ban would potentially violate their First Amendment rights.
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