Alibaba gets reprieve on lobbying ban tied to DoD blacklist

A federal judge ordered the Pentagon to give Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. a reprieve from a law that caused all of its lobbyists to drop it as a client while she considers the constitutionality of the measure, in a case set to test the US’s ability to curtail Chinese companies’ activities.

Washington’s most powerful lobbying firms rushed to sever ties with Alibaba and other Chinese tech giants after a new law targeting entities allegedly aiding China’s military took effect last week, Bloomberg News previously reported.   

The restriction bars the Defense Department from working with any company represented by lobbyists who also work for entities blacklisted by the Pentagon for allegedly aiding the Chinese People’s Liberation Army. In practice, the provision forced lobbyists to choose between the sanctioned Chinese companies and US defense contractors, causing them to abandon the former.

US District Judge Eumi K. Lee, who is overseeing a lawsuit by Alibaba challenging its........

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