US appeals court rejects Justice Dept’s request for immediate ban on WeChat

(Reuters) – A U.S. appeals court on Monday rejected a Justice Department request that it allow the government to immediately ban Apple Inc and Alphabet Inc’s Google from offering Tencent’s WeChat for download in U.S. app stores.

The three-judge panel for the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals said in a brief order the government had not demonstrated it would “suffer an imminent, irreparable injury during the pendency of this appeal, which is being expedited.”

On Friday, a U.S. judge in San Francisco rejected a Justice Department request to reverse her decision preventing the WeChat ban sought by the U.S. Commerce Department in response to a lawsuit filed by WeChat users.