WeChat Download Ban Halted by US Judge

A US judge early Sunday blocked the Trump administration from requiring Apple and Alphabet's Google to remove Chinese-owned messaging app WeChat for downloads by late Sunday.

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."

Her 22-page order added the prohibitions "burden substantially more speech than is necessary to serve the government's significant interest in national security, especially given the lack of substitute channels for communication."