Thread by @ACLU

Bans on WeChat and TikTok violate the First Amendment by restricting our ability to communicate and conduct important transactions.

Restricting WeChat in particular will harm many communities with loved ones in China.

The move reflects Trump’s xenophobic and racist agenda.

Millions of people in the United States use WeChat as a primary or only form of communication with family, friends, and other contacts in China. Without it, we will have difficulty maintaining some of life’s essential connections.

Many people and groups will be impacted by this ban.

Immigrants use WeChat to stay in touch with family members.

Universities use it to engage with international students.

Journalists use it to gather information and contact sources.

Chinese immigrant communities in the US have built robust online spaces on WeChat. These communities foster friendships, small business growth, and many of the hallmarks of other social platforms such as Facebook and Twitter.

WeChat is also an essential communication channel for workers who do business in both the US and China. And it is used by businesses of all sizes to find customers and send payments.

Users, especially the elderly or less tech-savvy, who have only become familiar with WeChat, could lose access to the vital social relationships that it enables.

This is especially troubling during the pandemic, when many of us depend heavily on digital communication.

Privacy harms from data collection by apps are real but other foreign-owned apps, and US companies like Facebook and Google, collect similar info. To begin addressing these harms Congress should enact comprehensive surveillance reform and strong consumer data privacy legislation.

🗣️ We’ll say it again: Trump’s choice to selectively ban TikTok and WeChat transactions is an abuse of emergency powers that furthers his xenophobic agenda and hurts immigrants.