A group of WeChat users has filed a lawsuit against Donald Trump's ban order, calling the decision unconstitutional. The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in San Francisco, was brought by the US WeChat Alliance Group , a nonprofit group not affiliated with the app's owner .
President Donald Trump signed an order earlier this month banning U.S. transactions on WeChat, calling the messaging app, owned by Chinese giant Tencent , a “ significant threat ” to national security . The user group’s lawsuit said the complaint was “vaguely worded” and said it provided no evidence that WeChat posed an actual threat.
“In a clear violation of the First Amendment, the Executive Order targets and silences WeChat users, the vast majority of whom are members of the Chinese community,” the complaint. “It regulates constitutionally protected speech, expression, and association and is not narrowly tailored to restrict only that speech that poses risks to the United States.”
Trump issued bans on August 6 against WeChat and the Chinese app TikTok, citing concerns that TikTok and WeChat collect “massive samples of data and information from its users” from U.S. users. There is also concern that the Chinese companies may not be able to refuse requests from China’s ruling Communist Party for access to that data.
"In the United States, the proliferation of mobile applications developed and owned by companies in the People's Republic of China continues to threaten the national security, foreign policy, and economy of the United States," the executive order states.
The app has more than 1 billion users worldwide, with more than 19 million daily users in the US, according to Apptopia analytics.
However, experts warn that a WeChat ban could severely limit the ability of American companies to compete at their current level in Chinese markets. Apple iPhone sales, for example, could fall by 30% globally if the ban forces Apple's App Store to delist WeChat, according to an Apple analyst.
Neither the White House nor TenCent immediately responded to requests for comment.
