By Sebastian Herrera and Katy Stech Ferek

A federal judge in California temporarily blocked the Trump administration's executive order curbing Americans' use of WeChat, upholding a motion from users of the popular Chinese-owned messaging and e-commerce app.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Laurel Beeler entered an order Sunday for a preliminary injunction blocking the federal ban on U.S. downloads and other functions for going into force as scheduled for 11:59 pm Sunday.

The ruling is a victory for WeChat's owner, Chinese tech giant Tencent Holdings Ltd., and the U.S. WeChat Users Alliance, the nonprofit organization that filed the motion against the Trump administration in August. The group, which has said it isn't affiliated with Tencent, said it consists of users who rely on WeChat for business and personal reasons.

Write to Sebastian Herrera at Sebastian.Herrera@wsj.com and Katy Stech Ferek at katherine.stech@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

September 20, 2020 10:00 ET (14:00 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2020 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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