According to local media reports in the United States, San Francisco District Court Judge Laurel Beeler said at the hearing held that day that she is unlikely to allow the ban on WeChat to continue to be enforced while the US government is appealing the previous ruling. The judge pointed out that the ban would violate the free speech rights of millions of Americans who depend on the app. Biller said that the additional evidence provided by the Justice Department on the grounds of “national security concerns” did not change her mind. She still believes that the relevant ban would violate the freedom of speech rights of millions of Americans who speak Chinese and rely on the app. Biller also stated that the act of sending messages on WeChat is not illegal: “The activity on this platform is not illegal.” At the hearing, Biller did not make a final decision on the request of the US government.
The US Department of Commerce has stated that starting from September 20, downloading WeChat on the US App Store platform will be illegal, and users who already own the app will be restricted from downloading software updates. Subsequently, the US WeChat user organization “WeChat User Alliance of America” filed a lawsuit, and Judge Biller suspended the WeChat ban on September 20. She said she agreed with the views of American users that these restrictions may violate the rights granted to users by the First Amendment to the US Constitution.
