On or around September 20, 2020, a federal judge granted a nonprofit organization’s motion for a nationwide preliminary injunction against the implementation of an Executive Order banning transactions related to WeChat (the “EO”). As a result of the preliminary injunction, users can continue using WeChat as usual.
The EO was signed by President Trump on August 6, 2020 on the ground that a ban on WeChat would protect personal and proprietary information and national security. It was scheduled to become effective 45 days after the signing of the EO. The EO itself did not describe or define the scope of forbidden transactions.
On September 18, 2020, two days before the effective date of the EO, the Department of Commerce issued a sweeping order to implement the EO. Among other things, the order prohibits:
any provision of service to distribute or maintain the WeChat mobile application, constituent code, or application updates through an online mobile application store in the U.S.;
any provision of services through the WeChat mobile application for the purpose of transferring funds or processing payments within the U.S.;
provision of certain services by vendors to enable the function or optimization of the mobile app in the U.S.; and
Any utilization of the mobile app’s constituent code, functions, or services in the functioning of software or services developed and/or accessible within the U.S.
This order by the Department of Commerce will not take effect due to the issuance of the preliminary injunction. As of the time of this article’s publication, the Trump administration has not indicated whether it would appeal the order.