Case 3:20-cv-05910-LB Document 150 Filed 02/11/21 Page 1 of 6

1 MICHAEL D. GRANSTON
2345678910Deputy Assistant Attorney General
ALEXANDER K. HAAS
Branch Director
DANIEL SCHWEISpecial Counsel
SERENA M. ORLOFFMICHAEL DREZNER
STUART J. ROBINSONAMY E. POWELL
Attorneys
United States Department of Justice
Civil Division, Federal Programs Branch
Ben Franklin Station, P.O. Box No. 883
Washington, DC 20044
Phone: (202) 305-0167
Fax: (202) 616-8470
E-mail: serena.m.orloff@usdoj.gov
Counsel for Defendants

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURTNORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA, SAN FRANCISCO DIVISION

14U.S. WECHAT USERS ALLIANCE,
15 CHIHUO INC., BRENT COULTER,FANGYI DUAN, JINNENG BAO,
16 ELAINE PENG, and XIAO ZHANG,Plaintiffs,
17v.
18JOSEPH R. BIDEN, JR., in his official
19 capacity as President of the United States,
and WYNN COGGINS, in her official
20 capacity as Acting Secretary of Commerce,
21

Case No. 3:20-cv-05910-LB
STIPULATED REQUEST TO STAYPROCEEDINGS; PROPOSED ORDER
Judge: Hon. Laurel Beeler
Trial Date: None SetDefendants.

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STIPULATED REQUEST TO STAY PROCEEDINGS; [PROPOSED] ORDER

Case 3:20-cv-05910-LB Document 150 Filed 02/11/21 Page 2 of 6

1 TO THE COURT AND TO ALL PARTIES OF RECORD:
2WHEREAS, on August 6, 2020, President Donald Trump issued Executive Order

3 13943 titled “Addressing the Threat Posed by WeChat, and Taking Additional Steps to4 Address the National Emergency with Respect to the Information and Communications
5 Technology and Services Supply Chain” (“Executive Order”), 85 Fed. Reg. 48641
6 (Aug. 6, 2020), and on September 18, 2020, the Secretary identified six categories of
7 prohibitions pursuant to the Executive Order;
8WHEREAS, Plaintiffs filed this case on August 21, 2020, seeking declaratory and9 injunctive relief against the President and the Secretary of Commerce in relation to the
10 Executive Order, and subsequently twice amended their complaint;
11WHEREAS, on September 19, 2020, the Court granted Plaintiffs’ motion to

12 preliminarily enjoin the Secretary’s six identified prohibitions, and subsequently declined
13 to stay its injunction pending Defendants’ appeal to the Court of Appeals for the Ninth
14 Circuit;
15WHEREAS, the parties have since commenced briefing of Defendants’ partial

16 motion to dismiss Plaintiffs’ Second Amended Complaint, ECF No. 136, and are engaged
17 in ongoing efforts to eliminate or narrow disputes regarding the appropriate scope of the18 administrative record;
19

WHEREAS, on January 20, 2021, the Biden Administration took office, and20 thereafter the Department of Commerce began a review of certain recently issued agency
21 actions, including the Secretary’s prohibitions regarding the WeChat mobile application at
22 issue in this case;
23WHEREAS, the Department plans to conduct an evaluation of the underlying

24 record justifying those prohibitions, which will better position the Government to
25 determine whether the national security threat described in the President’s August 6, 2020
26 Executive Order, and the regulatory purpose of protecting the security of Americans and27 their data, continue to warrant the identified prohibitions;
28

WHEREAS, the Department of Commerce remains committed to a robust defense
Case No. 3:20-cv-05910-LB1STIPULATED REQUEST TO STAY PROCEEDINGS; [PROPOSED] ORDER

Case 3:20-cv-05910-LB Document 150 Filed 02/11/21 Page 3 of 6

1 of national security as well as ensuring the viability of our economy and preserving
2 individual rights and data privacy;
3

WHEREAS, the Department’s review of the prohibitions at issue here may narrow

4 the issues presented or eliminate the need for judicial review entirely, and will permit new
5 agency officials sufficient time to become familiar with the issues in this case;
6WHEREAS, to allow the Department to adequately consider the issues presented in

7 this case, the Government filed a motion to hold in abeyance the ongoing appeal before the8 Ninth Circuit of the preliminary injunction previously entered by this Court. See U.S.
9 WeChat Users Alliance v. Biden, et al., No. 20-16908, Dkt. No. 78 (9th Cir. Feb. 11,10 2021), and that motion was unopposed by Plaintiffs;
11WHEREAS, for the same reasons that the Government requested that the Ninth

12 Circuit appeal be held in abeyance, the parties agree that it likewise makes sense to stay
13 further proceedings before this Court based on the above developments.
14Accordingly, pursuant to Northern District Local Rule 6-2, Plaintiffs U.S.

15 WECHAT USERS ALLIANCE, CHIHUO INC., BRENT COULTER, FANGYI DUAN,
16 JINNENG BAO, ELAINE PENG, and XIAO ZHANG and Defendants JOSEPH R.
17 BIDEN JR., in his official capacity as President of the United States, and WYNN
18 COGGINS, in her official capacity as Acting Secretary of Commerce, by and through their
19 Counsel of Record,
20HEREBY STIPULATE AS FOLLOW:

211.

All further proceedings and pending deadlines in this case should be stayed

22 and held in abeyance pending further developments;
232.

The parties shall file a joint status report in 60 days, i.e., on April 12, 2021,

24 regarding this matter and any further developments.
25

IT IS SO STIPULATED.

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2STIPULATED REQUEST TO STAY PROCEEDINGS; [PROPOSED] ORDER

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1 DATED: February 11, 2021

Respectfully submitted,2ROSEN BIEN GALVAN & GRUNFELD LLP3By: /s/ Michael W. Bien
Michael W. Bien

45Attorneys for Plaintiffs

67 DATED: February 11, 2021

Respectfully submitted,

8

MICHAEL D. GRANSTON
Deputy Assistant Attorney General

9101112ALEXANDER K. HAAS
Branch Director
DANIEL SCHWEISpecial Counsel

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2122

By: /s/ Serena M. Orloff
Serena M. Orloff
Michael Drezner
Amy Powell
Stuart J. Robinson
Trial Attorneys
United States Department of Justice
Civil Division, Federal Programs Branch
1100 L Street NW
Washington, D.C. 20005
Phone: (202) 305-0167
Fax: (202) 616-8470serena.m.orloff@usdoj.gov

Attorneys for Defendants

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1

Pursuant to Civil Local Rule 5-1(i)(3), I hereby attest that I have on file approvals

2 for any signatures indicated by a “conformed” signature (/s/) within this e-filed document.
3 DATED: February 11, 2021
45

By: /s/ Serena M. Orloff
Serena M. Orloff

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Case 3:20-cv-05910-LB Document 150 Filed 02/11/21 Page 6 of 6

1

[PROPOSED] ORDER

2Pursuant to the above Stipulation, and good cause appearing therefor,

3

IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that further proceedings in this matter are STAYED,

4 all pending deadlines are vacated, and the March 4, 2021 hearing on Defendants’ Partial
5 Motion to Dismiss is removed from the Court’s calendar.
6IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the parties shall file a joint status report in 60

7 days, i.e., on April 12, 2021, regarding this matter and any additional developments.
89IT IS SO ORDERED.

1011 DATED: ____________, 2021
12

Honorable Laurel Beeler
United States Magistrate Judge

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