For Immediate Release
Contact: Dr. Jianli Yang – 857-472-9039 – yangjianli@initiativesforchina.org

Nov 14, 2023

After numerous twists and turns and a prolonged wait, the class action lawsuit against WeChat is finally scheduled to be tried at the California Court of Appeal in San Jose, California, on November 16, 2023. Times Wang, the lead attorney for plaintiffs in this case, will be appearing in court to present oral arguments. The entire trial will be webcast live, and details will be announced.

The class action WeChat case was initiated and organized by Citizen Power Initiatives for China (CPIFC), a human rights organization based in Washington, D.C., USA. CPIFC, along with six WeChat users as the plaintiffs, formally filed a lawsuit in the California Superior Court in Santa Clara on January 8, 2021. Leading the lawsuit are Times Wang, founder of North River; Mark Lanier, founder of LLF and legendary trial lawyer; Ken Starr, former U.S. Attorney General and independent investigator of the Clinton-Lewinsky case; and Paul Hoffman, a prominent constitutional and civil rights litigator with SSHHZ.

In September 2021, Judge Patricia M. Lucas of the Santa Clara Superior Court ruled that lawsuits against Tencent, the parent company of WeChat, must be pursued in court, rejecting Tencent’s attempts to move the case to private arbitration. This ensures that the filing of a lawsuit of great public significance will take place in a public forum, rather than in private arbitration.

The entire process, from project preparation in early 2020 to formal filing in 2021, and now to the trial in 2023, has been a collaborative effort by a team of lawyers and volunteers. We express our gratitude to the plaintiffs for their positive response, courageous filing, and patience! More individuals and organizations are welcome to join the class action lawsuit against WeChat. For additional details and progress on the case, please visit the Class Action WeChat Project website at www.wechatlawsuit.com.

WeChat Class Lawsuit Team