US to challenge judge’s order that blocked WeChat app store ban

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Commerce Department said on Monday it will challenge an order issued Sunday by a U.S. judge that blocked the department’s order requiring Apple and Google to remove WeChat from their U.S. app stores.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Laurel Beeler in San Francisco issued a preliminary injunction that blocked the department’s order, which would also have barred other U.S. transactions with Tencent Holding’s WeChat, potentially making the app unusable in the United States.

“Prohibiting the identified transactions is necessary to protect the national security of the United States, and the department expects to soon seek relief from this order,” the Commerce Department said.