President Trump Signs New Executive Order
"Executive Order on Addressing the Threat Posed by WeChat"
On August 6, 2020, President Trump signed a new Executive Order which would effectively ban the use of the application WeChat in the United States. ISSS and the University of Utah have been carefully following news about the Executive Order as we understand that a ban on WeChat would eliminate meaningful access to communication with your friends and families, as well as your home community.
Significant updates regarding this Executive Order have occurred over the last few days, and we would like to share this information with you to keep you informed about these developments as well as offer our sincerest support to you and your loved ones during this difficult time. We understand that the various actions that have been taken by the U.S. Government in recent months to restrict the movement and activities of Chinese students and scholars in the United States are extremely distressing, and may leave you feeling fearful or stressed about the future. We are here to help support you in any way that we can, and there are also various University of Utah services available to you that may be helpful during this time.
We would like to provide some background about this new Executive Order and updates about the various actions that have taken place over the past several days:
- President Trump signed an Executive Order on August 6, 2020 to impose restrictions on applications owned by Chinese company Tencent Holdings, which includes both WeChat and Tik Tok. The reasoning behind this executive order includes concerns about data collection of users and the potential for the collection of politically sensitive information. The Executive Order directed the S. Department of Commerce to identify the types of transactions that should be banned. Last week the U.S. Department of Commerce announced prohibitions on transactions relating to both WeChat and Tik Tok in order to safe guard the national security interests of the United States. In effect, these actions would result in preventing consumers located in the United States from downloading or updating the WeChat app, or use it to send or receive money. The ban was set to go into effect at midnight on September 20.
- On August 23, 2020, non-profit group WeChat Users Alliance sued the Trump administration over the potential WeChat ban. The user group claimed the order violates First Amendment free speech rights and is unfairly targeted at the Chinese community in the US, which often uses WeChat to communicate with friends and family in
- Yesterday, Sunday, September 20, 2020, a U.S. Federal Judge in California issued a preliminary injunction which temporarily blocks the U.S. Government’s banning of WeChat. In the decision, Judge Laurel Beeler said that she has granted the motion because the plaintiffs, WeChat User Alliance, raised serious questions about whether the order would threaten users’ First Amendment rights, as stated in the U.S. Constitution. Furthermore, Judge Beller writes that without a preliminary injunction, or “stay,” against this Executive Order, it would place significant hardship on the plaintiffs and shut down the primary means of communication for the Chinese community. [WeChat Users Alliance] community.” [Order Granting Motion for Preliminary Injunction: U.S. WECHAT USERS ALLIANCE, et al. v. Donald J. Trump, et al., No. 20- cv-05910-LB (D. California 2020].
So what does this mean for you? At this time, there is now a nationwide injunction against the implementation of the Executive Order issued on August 6, 2020. This means that you may continue to download, update, and use WeChat while in the United States. However, the U.S. Government can choose to appeal this decision and overturn the injunction, which could result in a renewal of the ban in the future.
If you are experiencing difficulties coping with this stressful situation, or would like to discuss it with someone, please know that ISSS advisors and additional campus resources are here to support you. If you have any questions, you are welcome to reach out to the ISSS Office to meet with an advisor, and if needed, we will connect you with the appropriate campus resources.
Campus Resources:
Employee Assistance Program: Available to part and full time employees of the University of Utah