President Trump’s executive order banning WeChat has been met with mixed reactions – from
concerns that the action represents a free speech violation to skepticism surrounding the extent it
will ensure national security. But for the Chinese community, the ban is viewed as a threat to
their communication with loved ones, economic livelihoods, and connection to the world.

Joyce*, a Chinese woman living in the United States, uses WeChat on a daily basis to talk to her
parents in China. Upon learning about the rumors of a potential ban on the WeChat app from
other users’ posts, she thought it a “joke” or a “bluff” as part of Trump’s election strategy. But
once she saw the official announcement from the U.S. Department of Commerce, she began
discussing a backup plan with her parents, a task that proved difficult as no comprehensive
substitutes are obvious.

China researcher at Human Rights Watch, Yaqiu Wang clarifies that individuals who have found
and currently use alternatives to WeChat do exist, classifying them into two groups. Some people
had concerns about their data and privacy before the ban, instead choosing to use a VPN with
WhatsApp or an encrypted messaging service such as Signal. “The second group of people, they
either cannot have a WeChat after constantly being banned or constantly being monitored,”
explained Wang. Still, the app remains the default mode of communication for the Chinese
diaspora, with an average of 19 million daily active users in the U.S as of early August,
according to analytics firm Apptopia.

Similar social media options used in the U.S., like Whatsapp, Facebook, Facebook Messenger,
and Twitter, are banned under China’s firewall. International texts and phone calls can be
expensive. Although iMessage is free, its use is based on the assumption that both parties own
iPhones, which is not always the case due to Apple’s high price point and competition with
existing Chinese brands like Huawei and Xiaomi.

“Especially when you think about the audience, WeChat is very user-friendly. Like my grandma
uses it,” said Joyce*, “I cannot imagine asking my parents to download a VPN, then try to
connect to the VPN to talk to me. It just doesn’t make sense.” WeChat is commonly referred to
by Chinese people as the “app for everything.” Its design and range of features speak specifically
to the needs and customs of Chinese users through services long neglected by American apps.

The quick voice notes feature allows users to communicate with voice alone, a necessary tool for
Chinese Americans who may speak Chinese but are not proficient in reading or writing the
language. That same focus on visuals is mirrored in WeChat’s ‘Moments’ function. But
WeChat’s appeal in the Chinese community extends beyond its services to its incorporation of
Chinese cultural elements. Mobile payments are extremely prevalent in China, and WeChat Pay
offers a payment solution in the form of a hongbao (red envelope), a nod to cultural nuance.

Perhaps WeChat’s most appealing feature is its large user base. The app’s network effect means
it serves an essential role in connecting Chinese Americans and immigrants to their communities. A daily part of communication for Chinese people is WeChat groups, group chats used for just
about every purpose: a neighborhood watch, school parent groups, customer outreach for small
businesses, organizing around political issues, remote mental health counseling, and much more.
Many of these services do not have U.S. alternatives provided in a space that accommodates the
needs of Chinese individuals or immigrants who may not speak English.

During the pandemic, WeChat became the go-to platform for businesses communicating with
clients. Restaurants use the app to take orders, and some small shops selling homemade goods,
like baked sweets or jewelry, operate entirely on WeChat. Companies that conduct business with
clients in China depend on WeChat’s messaging functions too. As a China researcher, Wang
uses the app to “see what’s going” when conducting research and advocacy on human rights.

However, using WeChat is a trade-off, as users face drawbacks in terms of informational
surveillance, misinformation, and other ethical concerns. “Of course [the ban] will be disruptive
and create real inconveniences that should not be denied,” acknowledged Wang, “At the same
time, I think people should realize that the Chinese government uses this app to surveil and
censor people. WeChat the company, Tencent, actively facilitates human rights abuses.”

For Uighurs and Tibetans, the app’s ban has been overwhelmingly considered a net positive, as
the “temporary inconvenience of losing the app is worth the larger gains in their struggle for
emancipation,” explained Tenzin Dorjee, senior researcher at Tibet Action Institute in a
Washington Post op-ed. According to the Tibet Action Institute, at least 29 Tibetans were
arrested or detained in connection to their WeChat posts between 2014 and 2019, though the
exact number is believed to be much higher. Still, following India’s WeChat ban, exiled Tibetans
experienced restricted communications, whereas previously, 71% of Tibetans in India used
coded WeChat messages as the primary means of staying in touch with their families in Tibet.

Chinese people in the U.S. find themselves facing a similar tradeoff between convenience and
surveillance, albeit with less severe risks. “I do know China censors the content, so a lot of times,
my friends, when they type something, they need to type in a special way,” noted Joyce*. But
she feels the pros generally outweigh the cons. “To be honest, I guess for me, I’m just the
average Chinese. And I don’t have a lot of sensitive information or any conspiracies. I just want
to talk to my parents.”

A common argument among those supporting the ban is that it fills a need for reciprocity in
response to China’s banning of American social media apps, as the first step towards openness.
In response, critics of the ban worry about the eye-for-an-eye logic’s efficacy, asserting it could
fracture the Internet if taken further with future app bans. Trump’s executive order doesn’t
explicitly ban WeChat for demand in reciprocity or human rights violations. Instead, the ban
decides between surveillance or connection for the Chinese community under vague national
security reasons.

Wang brings up the Open Technology Fund, which the encrypted service Signal was initially
developed through, as an example of how the U.S. could deal with China’s repression of
information. “The U.S. government can support research and development of apps that are hard
to be banned by the Chinese government,” she said.

Another concern with WeChat is the disinformation on the app. Without access to bilingual
Chinese-English newspaper articles, many in the Chinese community turn to WeChat as their
daily news source. “There are ways for the U.S. government, private sector, and civil society to
invest in resources that are independent, create new information sources that are independent and
fact-based.” She emphasized that expanding access to news that isn’t censored by the Chinese
government is especially important for the Chinese diaspora.

As of now, Trump’s orders on WeChat are uncertain, perhaps deliberately so. On Sept. 25, the
U.S. Justice Department filed to ask the federal judge to put on hold her preliminary injunction
blocking the U.S. Commerce Department restrictions on WeChat. Joyce* has planned to
continue using WeChat for as long as possible, although she worries she will not be able to
update the app in the future or that it will become incompatible with her phone: “If I cannot use
the app, then I don’t know how to tell my parents ‘Hey, I’m alive here!’”

*Editor’s Note: Name has been changed to protect the identity of the interviewee.