An alliance representing WeChat users is joining TikTok owner ByteDance in taking legal action to challenge President Trump’s bans of both apps. The President signed executive orders banning both apps from the United States. Both groups argue Terump’s executive orders are illegal and violate constitutional rights.
TNW reports on the TikTok challenge to the ban:
Over the weekend, TikTok said that it has tried to hold a discussion with the US government over the last year. However, it observed that there’s a lack of due process and the administration pays “no attention to the facts.”
The app’s spokesperson said that the company is taking the legal route to sure that the firm and users are treated fairly:
“To ensure that the rule of law is not discarded and that our company and users are treated fairly, we have no choice but to challenge the executive order through the judicial system.”
The TikTok challenge appears to be based on the 5th Amendment right to due process, which is best known for allowing defendants to remain silent on the grounds of possible self-incrimination, also prevents deprivation of property without due process of law.
A Financial Times report says WeChat users are basing their arguments on both the 1st and 5th Amendments.
A coalition of WeChat users in the US sued the Trump administration on Friday, challenging its ban of the messaging app, which they claimed had become an essential digital service for millions of Chinese-Americans.
The complaint, filed in the federal court in San Francisco, claimed the ban breached users’ free speech rights under the First Amendment, as well as being targeted narrowly at a racial group and overstepping the president’s national emergency powers […]
The suit also claims that, by leaving unclear exactly what interactions with WeChat were covered, the executive order breaches the Fifth Amendment, which guarantees due process.
President Trump claims WeChat data is available for access by the Chinese government. While WeChar owner Tencent has said this is not true, the alliance says the claim is irrelevant, and that the government should merely make its case then let users decide.
