Many businesses, not just communication, likely to be affected
The responses of WeChat users in the US in anticipation of a potential ban on the Chinese social messaging app by the Trump administration on national security grounds has revealed the ban may not just sever communications, but also affect other businesses from online shopping and education to advertisements.
US President Donald Trump issued an executive order Thursday to ban all US transactions via WeChat, a massively popular app owned by Chinese internet giant Tencent, giving a 45-day deadline. On the same day, viral short-form video platform TikTok was targeted in another presidential executive order.
After the White House announced the orders, WeChat users in the US, who reportedly number 1.5 million, scrambled for a backup plan. For them, the ubiquitous WeChat is much more than just about communication.
Many WeChat US-based users, mostly Chinese-Americans, are questioning whether the Trump administration really has the power to erase WeChat from people’s lives in such a short time.
Trump’s forced sale or shutdown of TikTok has drawn resistance from TikTok users in the US, mainly American youth. His ban on WeChat has met fierce resistance from the Chinese-American community, the main group of people in the US using the app for purposes including messaging, social media and payments.
A group of Chinese-American lawyers is already seeking a temporary restraining order against Trump’s executive order.
Still, Chinese-Americans are preparing for the worst in which the app is put out of service in the US.
The first and foremost impact would be on daily communications, including with family and friends in China as well as in the US, they told the Global Times.
“Most Chinese people in the US use WeChat to communicate, and I often read articles about living in New York City on WeChat for daily information,” said a Chinese WeChat user surnamed Ai, who’s been in NYC for more than two years.
For iPhone users, FaceTime, the built-in video chat product in most Apple gadgets, is most likely to be the alternative for communication with their Chinese families, if the multipurpose WeChat is banned, Ai said.
“I’m glad both of my parents use iPhones,” said another NYC resident who only gave her surname as Zhang. “If WeChat gets banned we’ll switch to FaceTime.”
Besides communication, educational service providers that offer online courses for children on WeChat will be affected.
“My kid’s teacher has already notified me that there will be a transfer to DingTalk, an app developed by Alibaba, to continue the online course in case of WeChat cut off in the US,” a California-based Chinese-American surnamed Yang told the Global Times Monday.
But WeChat is not only a messaging app, and its social media and payment functions mean many business focused on serving the Chinese-American community will also be disrupted.
For Chinese who are running small businesses in the US, the impact of a WeChat ban would be far-reaching, as it is often the platform for promotions, customer services and sometimes direct online to offline orders.
“The target consumers of Chinese supermarkets [in the US] and takeaway businesses are largely within the Chinese community, so they often post information on sales or discounts only on WeChat,” Ai said.
“People often contact the shop and restaurant owners directly on WeChat for orders,” Ai said. “Some restaurants even don’t have an offline store, and WeChat is the only way listed on their website to get in touch.”
US businesses that could be potentially affected that way include Asian shopping website Yummy, express delivery platform Chowbus and fresh supermarket FreshGoGo, according to media reports.
Chicago-based Asian food delivery platform Chowbus said its revenue increased 700 percent in the past two years and its staff grew by 300 percent to 300 employers in more than 20 cities, according to media reports. The company has recently raised $33 million in a Series A financing round.
“But I don’t think the US government will be given the right to block WeChat,” Ai said. “I heard it might be taken down from App stores, but I don’t think it will be banned for personal use.”
Shares of Tencent, which owns WeChat, dropped 4.83 percent to close at HK$502 ($64.78) on Monday.
A user swipes on his smartphone while WeChat logos appear in the background, 14 May 2020. Photo: IC
