Lawsuit against WeChat/Tencent for illegally censoring a US-based blogger
Fundraising goal: $50,000
Total anticipated litigation costs: $300,000
The Issue
WeChat is allegedly conducting politically motivated, pro-Chinese Communist Party censorship and surveillance on WeChat users in the United States, including by suspending the accounts of users who post views that WeChat considers anti-CCP. Our goal is to bring attention to this practice and force WeChat to stop censoring WeChat in the US on behalf of the CCP.
The Plaintiff
Lydia Liu runs a popular WeChat blog called Moshang USA with over two hundred thousand followers. She started the blog to counter what she perceived as inaccurately negative portrayals, on WeChat, of life in the United States, which portrayals were part of CCP propaganda efforts. Her blog did so by painting a more accurate, and generally positive, picture of American life, including her own. But, presumably because her largely pro-US writing offended the CCP, WeChat suspended and otherwise interfered with her blog, causing her blog to lose significant viewership and income.
The Defendants
Tencent is a PRC-based technology company, and WeChat, a messaging-and-payments mobile application, is one of its main offerings. WeChat is so universal it effectively holds a monopoly on how Chinese speakers communicate with each other electronically.
The Evidence
Extensive traffic record documentation
WeChat’s notices regarding suspensions
Media Coverage
WeChat’s alleged politically motivated censorship and surveillance has been widely reported in the media and by research institutes.
With your help, we can hold WeChat and Tencent accountable.
Thank you for supporting this important case.
info@northriverlegalfund.org
For extra security, use PGP or northriverlegalfund@protonmail.com