US government again fails to enforce WeChat blockade

A US judge has again rejected the government’s request to allow a blockade of WeChat. The US government had provided new evidence that WeChat would pose a threat to national security, but the judge did not agree.

Judge Laurel Beeler, of the San Francisco court, ruled that there is no conclusive evidence that WeChat, an app developed by China’s Tencent, poses such a threat to the United States that the application must be enforced. That reports Reuters news agency. It was the government’s second attempt to secure a blockade, after an earlier request was rejected last month. Although additional evidence was provided about imminent Chinese national security threats, this failed to convince Judge Beeler.

The United States Department of Justice has appealed the judge’s decision. But according to Reuters, a ruling is not expected before December, so WeChat is still available in the application stores of Apple and Google.

The US Department of Commerce recently ordered Apple’s App Store and Google Play Store to block WeChat and TikTok for US users. The Justice Department pleaded in court that the blockade should go ahead because otherwise the “determination of the president would be frustrated on how best to counter the threat to national security.” Incidentally, the government itself has already postponed a blockade of TikTok, due to a possible deal with Oracle and Walmart. Although an American judge later also put an end to this ban for the time being.