TikTok, WeChat Security Threat Has Yet to Be Proven, Judges Say
- U.S. exceeded authority with TikTok ban, Washington judge says
- WeChat users won similar delay from California judge Sept. 19
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Two federal judges have ruled this month that the Trump administration failed to prove Chinese-owned apps used by millions of Americans pose enough of a national security threat to justify a U.S. ban.
U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols in Washington said in a court filing Monday that he blocked a ban on new downloads of ByteDance Ltd.’s TikTok because the government has likely overstepped its authority under the emergency-powers law it invoked to justify the prohibition. On Sept. 19, U.S. Magistrate Judge Laurel Beeler in San Francisco blocked a similar ban on Tencent Holding Ltd.’s WeChat.