Trump’s WeChat curbs halted by judge on free speech concerns
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Re: Trump’s WeChat curbs halted by judge on free speech concerns
#2A preliminary injunction makes perfect sense considering how immediate and widely impactful a ban on WeChat would be to the Chinese-American community.
The onus is on the Trump administration to show that the immediate national security risk of letting WeChat continue to operate during legal proceedings exceeds the impact on Chinese Americans. Clearly there was no proof to make this case, because this was hardly about national security in the first place.
I'm sure the Trump legal team anticipated this, and also know that the injunction will continue into next year, so this entire "ban" is probably a political move. Trump can go into the debates/ads: "look how tough I am on China, Biden will lift the WeChat ban first chance he gets!"
Re: Trump’s WeChat curbs halted by judge on free speech concerns
#3I think most of us expected this. Presidential power is far from absolute, and Trump clearly overstepped here.
Re: Trump’s WeChat curbs halted by judge on free speech concerns
#4I always wondered how we squared disallowing things like WeChat and TikTok with freedom of speech. This whole thing feels a bit hyperbolic. Is there real danger lurking around the corner if we allow people to shit post on TikTok, for instance? Genuinely curious here.
Re: Trump’s WeChat curbs halted by judge on free speech concerns
#5IMO the forced sale of TikTok is very worrying for American production in China; in any future escalation China will likely use that same move as a card to play.
Re: Trump’s WeChat curbs halted by judge on free speech concerns
#6IMO the forced sale of TikTok is very worrying for American production in China; in any future escalation China will likely use that same move as a card to play.
? China already blocks american businesses
Re: Trump’s WeChat curbs halted by judge on free speech concerns
#7> who argued that prohibitions would violate the free-speech rights of millions of Chinese-speaking Americans who rely on it for communication.
By the same thinking Comcast should not be able to cut off someone's internet service (for not paying a bill) because doing so would violate that person's free speech rights (the ability to send email). Ditto for hosting providers, registrars and so on.
In this case the government sees a threat to the general public and believes it is right for getting rid of that threat. Really in a way like the classic 'can't yell fire in a crowded theater' argument.
Re: Trump’s WeChat curbs halted by judge on free speech concerns
#8Good. I didn't think the WeChat ban made much sense to begin with.
Sidenote, I've noticed more and more people joining Telegram to evade a potential WeChat ban. I wonder if they're going to stay on Telegram.
Re: Trump’s WeChat curbs halted by judge on free speech concerns
#9IMO the forced sale of TikTok is very worrying for American production in China; in any future escalation China will likely use that same move as a card to play.
yeah if a company wants to come in and do business, china will usually force the company (especially if it has trade secrets) to create a partnership with a local firm for production, etc
Re: Trump’s WeChat curbs halted by judge on free speech concerns
#10I have been studying Chinese for 7 years. Many of my Chinese friends live in Los Angeles and WeChat is central in their life... Getting a job, taking orders, doing all kinds of business, paying for things. They don't know the phone numbers of their friends. Many don't speak English or their English is not very good. If it is completely cut off they will still find ways to communicate but arguably it will be more likely to create new ways for scammers to take advantage of people. I think it is possible to ban WeclChat, but there needs to be a well thought out plan.