In depth: Inside the legal battle to defeat Trump's WeChat ban

Grassroots legal group calls executive order unconstitutional

20201102 Caixin WeChat AP_20220429379630

Claiming to represent "the most ordinary" WeChat users in the U.S., the legal group has so far successfully argued that Trump's ban may unlawfully sever their communications. © AP

MATTHEW WALSH, Caixin

November 2, 2020 22:45 JST

Millions of WeChat users in the U.S. can breathe a temporary sigh of relief, after an appeals court this week quashed a government request to restrict China's biggest social messaging app in the United States.

The decision marked a new setback for an executive order issued by U.S. President Donald Trump in August banning WeChat on national security grounds. The platform has around 1.2 billion users worldwide, including some 19 million in the United States.