• by Wendy Davis  @wendyndavis, February 11, 2021

At the request of the Biden administration, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals on Thursday agreed to hold off on deciding a battle over the former administration's attempt to ban the messaging app WeChat.

The move came the same day the Biden administration said it was reviewing the Trump administration's justification for the attempted ban, and asked the court to pause proceedings in the matter.

The 9th Circuit has asked the government to issue a status report within 60 days.

Last August, former President Donald Trump claimed in an executive order that the Chinese-owned messaging service poses a security risk. The Commerce Department subsequently ordered app marketplaces to take down the app.

WeChat users challenged the order in court, arguing the app is essential to Chinese speakers in the U.S.

U.S. District Court Magistrate Laurel Beeler in the Northern District of California sided with the users and entered an injunction barring the government from enforcing a ban on WeChat downloads.

In November, the Justice Department asked the 9th Circuit to lift Beeler's injunction, arguing that she didn't adequately take into account the White House's judgment about national security threats.

Separately, the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals also granted the government's request to pause proceedings in a battle over TikTok.