The “United States has never shut down a major platform for communications, not even during war times. There are serious First Amendment problems with the WeChat ban, which targets the Chinese American community,” said Michael Bien, an attorney representing WeChat users.
Bien further added that the ban “trampled on their First Amendment guaranteed freedoms to speak, to worship, to read and react to the press, and to organize and associate for numerous purposes.”
Whether the ban will hold in federal courts remains to be seen. An ongoing deal between Oracle and ByteDance to acquire a majority stake in TikTok is still underway.
Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross has made it clear he would support the deal and roll back the ban if it meets Trump’s specifications.
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