As TikTok ban looms, users are flocking to RedNote!

When Biden signed the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act (PAFACA) into law last April, one of the primary grounds for the legislation was national security. This statute obliged TikTok to sell its US operations or face a ban by January 19, 2025.

The threat posed by China is very genuine for the United States, as evidenced by different reports. For example, TP-Link routers may be banned in the United States, and the US has imposed a number of export restrictions on China, punishing companies who fail to comply. Biden also issued a last-minute rule that will tighten limits on the sale of Nvidia AI chips to countries such as China, which Nvidia strongly opposes.

So, you get the picture: the US doesn't have the best relationship with China, and the government is concerned about a Chinese platform operating in the US, with millions of customers ready for data harvesting. In the midst of all this, Mark Zuckerberg's Meta is campaigning against TikTok. Can you blame the company? Instagram Reels was introduced in 2020 as a counter to TikTok, however by 2021, many Instagram reels were essentially rehashed TikTok videos.

Meta funded Targeted Victory, a consulting firm, more than $100 million in 2022 to build anti-TikTok campaigns depicting it as a threat to American children and society. If TikTok disappears, many of its US users will likely move to Reels.

Now, as January 19 approaches, there are indications that users are flocking to RedNote (also known as Xiaohongshu in China). RedNote, a social media software that supports short-form videos, shopping, and more, has already risen to the top of the software Store charts.

Several TikTok creators are endorsing RedNote (you may have noticed the hashtag #TikTokRefugees in their posts) and encouraged fans to join them on the app. RedNote may be new to US users, but it has been available since 2013.

With a layout similar to Pinterest, it has gained popularity among Chinese users, particularly women, with over 250 million monthly active users. According to the Financial Times, the platform's current valuation is $17 billion.

It would be amusing if TikTok's ban were lifted and the US government congratulated itself on eliminating one Chinese app due to national security concerns, only for another Chinese app to take its place. On TikTok, a new trend has evolved in which users "thank their Chinese spy for watching over them all these years," in reference to the US's regular anti-China concerns about TikTok.

TikTok has denied claims that it is considering selling its US assets to Elon Musk.