Users of TikTok in the United States are migrating to a popular Chinese social networking platform in anticipation of an impending ban, utilizing the hashtag #TikTokrefugees.
RedNote, an application akin to Instagram, has rapidly risen to be the most downloaded app on the US App Store over the past few days.
This app is extremely favored in Mandarin-speaking regions and boasts over 300 million monthly active users, as reported by Bloomberg.
The landing page of the application is filled with Mandarin speakers greeting Americans, while Americans introduce themselves as well.
“I’m American. Do you all like us? We know you’re not the enemy. Can we all be friends?” reads one comment that has garnered nearly 3,000 responses.
The responses include inquiries about particular American English expressions like “y’all,” warm welcomes to the American users, and humorous remarks about data privacy.
“If you share all your data with me, we can get along,” quipped one reply, humorously alluding to the US’s apprehensions regarding national security and TikTok.
Individuals who do not speak Mandarin must consent to privacy agreements and terms they cannot comprehend, raising certain security apprehensions.
In Taiwan, public officials are prohibited from using RedNote due to the purported security hazards associated with Chinese software, paralleling a UK prohibition of TikTok on governmental devices.
Currently, TikTok is set to be banned in the US starting Sunday, unless the Supreme Court overturns the law this week.
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Last year, Congress enacted a law stipulating that Bytedance, TikTok’s parent company in China, would need to divest its interests in the platform, or it would face a ban.
This has incited a significant migration to RedNote, or Xiaohongshu, given that this ban will take effect in less than a week.
Nonetheless, social media analyst Adam Tinworth cautioned Sky News that there might be challenges for American users attempting to replace TikTok with another Chinese social networking site.
“The legislation that Biden passed through the House explicitly names TikTok and Bytedance, but includes clauses permitting the government to unilaterally extend the same measures to any other service owned by a hostile foreign power.
“Thus, if all content from TikTok transitions to RedNote, then theoretically, depending on how the Trump administration views the situation, they could enact the same legislation against RedNote and easily shut it down as well.”
