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US-China tensions

US appeals court rejects immediate WeChat ban

Three-judge panel says government lacks evidence of imminent damage by app

WeChat users said the ruling will avoid an "unprecedented shutdown of a major platform for communications relied on by millions of people in the United States."   © Reuters

A U.S. appeals court on Monday rejected a Justice Department request that it allow the government to immediately ban Apple Inc and Alphabet Inc's Google from offering Tencent's WeChat for download in U.S. app stores.

The three-judge panel for the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals said in a brief order the government had not demonstrated it would "suffer an imminent, irreparable injury during the pendency of this appeal, which is being expedited."

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