Existing WeChat users in the US may be able to continue to communicate using the WeChat app, but the WeChat app may not be able to acquire new users in the US due to the ban, Tencent said in an announcement filed with the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.
Continued updates to the WeChat app by current users in the US may also be adversely affected, and the quality of service provided through the WeChat app may be adversely affected, the announcement said.
The company is further evaluating the impact of this incident and has been and will continue to be in discussion with the US government and other US stakeholders to reach a long-term resolution.
On September 18, the US Department of Commerce said that transactions related to WeChat and TikTok will be banned from September 20 in accordance with an executive order signed by the President on August 6 to safeguard US national security.
WeChat faces a total ban, while TikTok's deadline was extended to Nov. 12, but it can't be maintained or upgraded.
That said, starting Sunday, WeChat and TikTok are expected to be banned in the US, including but not limited to being removed from the US app store.
However, A US judge early Sunday blocked the Commerce Department from requiring Apple and Google to remove WeChat for downloads by late Sunday.
Reuters reported that US Magistrate Judge Laurel Beeler in San Francisco said in an order that WeChat users who filed a lawsuit “have shown serious questions going to the merits of the First Amendment claim, the balance of hardships tips in the plaintiffs’ favor.”
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