Lawyer Who Blocked US WeChat Ban Has Account Permanently Banned by Tencent
A Silicon Valley Chinese-American lawyer who successfully blocked a US government ban on WeChat during the Trump administration has had his personal WeChat account permanently banned by Tencent. The penalty notice cited multiple confirmed violations, placing the account in a restricted-login status that cannot be lifted. Tencent has not disclosed specific violation details, and the exact conduct triggering the ban remains unclear.
A Silicon Valley Chinese-American lawyer who previously succeeded in blocking a US-wide ban on WeChat has had his personal WeChat account permanently banned by Tencent. The penalty notice showed the account was in a "restricted login, cannot be unbanned" status, with the reason marked as "reported and confirmed multiple violations." Tencent has not publicly disclosed specific violation details or technical reasons for the action.
During the Trump administration, the lawyer joined other Chinese-American lawyers in filing a lawsuit against the US government and successfully obtained a court injunction that halted the WeChat ban. The legal action protected the communication rights of Chinese nationals in the US to stay in touch with relatives and friends in China via WeChat. The background involved executive orders issued by the US government at the time, which sought to ban WeChat nationwide.
The lawyer has since posted a video on a video platform recounting the account ban, but Tencent has not provided further explanation. Following the ban, the lawyer lost the right to use the WeChat account, and the specific speech or conduct that triggered the ban remains unclear.