미 법원, 위챗 사용금지에 급제동…상무부 명령 중단 조치
A federal judge in the U.S. has blocked the Trump administration's order to ban downloads of the Chinese messaging app WeChat in the country, citing freedom of speech.
For more on this and other news around the world, let's turn to our Kim Jae-hee.
Jae-hee, tell us more about the recent developments.
Mok-yeon, a U.S. judge in Northern California has issued a preliminary injunction siding with a group of U.S.-based WeChat users challenging President Trump's executive order to ban WeChat.
Judge Laurel Beeler said the ban on WeChat raised serious questions related to the constitution's first amendment, guaranteeing free speech.
This put a stop on the order the U.S. Department of Commerce announced on Friday... to ban WeChat from U.S. app stores from late Sunday, effectively shutting it down on national security grounds.
The judge said WeChat is the only means of communication for many Chinese speakers with limited English proficiency, due to of lack of substitute channels.
She also said specific evidence about WeChat posing a national security threat was "modest", and added there are alternatives to a complete ban.
