Last week, after Trump threatened to have part of TikTok sold in the U.S., today (August 6), he suddenly invoked the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) and issued two executive orders: one targeting Tencent’s WeChat and one targeting TikTok. Can we still use WeChat in the U.S.? Let’s break it down.

Executive orders

  1. WeChat: Executive Order on Addressing the Threat Posed by WeChat
  2. TikTok: Executive Order on Addressing the Threat Posed by TikTok

US persons

In the order, US persons are defined as:

  • U.S. citizens;
  • U.S. permanent residents;
  • entities organized under U.S. law; and
  • persons in the United States.

Order restriction provisions

Below is the WeChat version of the order; the TikTok version is very similar:

Section 1. (a) The following actions shall be prohibited beginning 45 days after the date of this order, to the extent permitted under applicable law: any transaction that is related to WeChat by any person, or with respect to any property, subject to the jurisdiction of the United States, with Tencent Holdings Ltd. (a.k.a. Téngxùn Kònggǔ Yǒuxiàn Gōngsī) , Shenzhen, China, or any subsidiary of that entity, as identified by the Secretary of Commerce (Secretary) under section 1 (c) of this order.

(b) ...

(c) 45 days after the date of this order, the Secretary shall identify the transactions subject to subsection (a) of this section.


The order prohibits any US person from engaging in any transaction with Tencent Holdings Ltd. and any subsidiary—
not just WeChat. That term, transaction, can be interpreted broadly under the IEEPA, and is not limited to money-related transactions. But using an app to chat is unlikely to fall under that definition of transaction, because IEEPA exempts personal communications that do not involve the transfer of anything of value:
The authority granted to the President by this section does not include the authority to regulate or prohibit, directly or indirectly—

(1) any postal, telegraphic, telephonic, or other personal communication, which does not involve a transfer of anything of value;

Can we still use WeChat? How to keep communicating with people in China?

Although this executive order may not legally have the direct effect of banning chat itself, in practice it is quite possible it leads to WeChat no longer serving users in the U.S. For example, Tencent's partners could refuse to provide service (similar to what happened when Huawei was first added to the entity list).

Prepare backup messaging apps

I suggest everyone consider getting other apps ready in advance, so you have at least one backup and won’t be cut off all at once. Options to consider include Telegram, Signal, WhatsApp, and Line.

If you need to stay in touch with people in China, I recommend Skype and iMessage/FaceTime, or going back to email.

Keep WeChat [KUKU Add-on]

WeChat is still the most effective way to communicate with contacts in China, so you can also consider setting up a Chinese mobile number for binding. That way, even if WeChat stops serving U.S. phone numbers, a WeChat account tied to a China number should be relatively safe. There are a few inexpensive ways to get a Chinese mobile number:

  • Physical numbers (for keeping the number and receiving SMS): monthly fee of about 5–8 yuan, available from the three major carriers, and can receive SMS overseas.

Using China Mobile as an example, there is an 8-yuan Feixiang plan. If you activate it, also enable international roaming (free), and you can receive SMS in the U.S.

  • Virtual numbers tied to a physical number: monthly fee of about 0–3 yuan, available from the three major carriers.

Using China Mobile as an example, one physical number can be used to apply for up to three virtual numbers (multiple-number service), with a fee of about 3 yuan per month. SMS and calls are delivered to the physical primary SIM card phone. You can ask family or friends in China to help you apply for one of these multi-number services, which can be used to bind WeChat, Alipay, and more. This is especially suitable for readers who cannot return to China to apply for an inexpensive physical number themselves.

Legality of the executive orders

The IEEPA cited by the president, International Emergency Economic Powers Act, gives the president broad authority to impose such restrictions in extraordinary situations:

(b) The authorities granted to the President by section 1702 of this title may only be exercised to deal with an unusual and extraordinary threat with respect to which a national emergency has been declared for purposes of this chapter and may not be exercised for any other purpose. Any exercise of such authorities to deal with any new threat shall be based on a new declaration of national emergency which must be with respect to such threat.

This order may exceed the president’s authority. It may also infringe on multiple constitutional rights. It is foreseeable that, if serious consequences arise, the validity of the order will be challenged in court.

Afterword

Please move your contacts now so you don’t lose touch.