On August 21st, a group of WeChat users in the US is launching a legal challenge to President Donald Trump's ban on the popular Chinese messaging app, arguing that the move violates their constitutional rights.

In a complaint filed Friday in federal court in San Francisco, Chinese-American lawyers who formed the US WeChat Users Alliance claim President Donald Trump’s planned restriction on the app is unconstitutional. His Aug. 6 order bans Americans from carrying out transactions with WeChat and TikTok, another Chinese social-media platform, as of mid-September.

The group argued that the app serves as a primary method to "communicate, organize social groups, run businesses and engage in political activities", as such the ban violates the Constitution by censoring "such a fundamental part of communication".

"especially when it affects an insular group that has historically been a minority that's been subject to discrimination in the US, by law or by practice"

"One of the problems with the executive order that was issued on Aug. 6 is that no one knows what it means, which has a chilling effect on users," Bien said. "This executive order has criminal sanctions as possible outcomes, and no one knows what's allowed. ... The vagueness in the law is also a constitutional violation."

Representatives of the US Justice Department didn’t immediately respond to an email sent after regular business hours seeking comment on the lawsuit.

Source: China Daily