Why Chinese App ‘Red Note’ Is Just As Bad As TikTok– thefederalist.com
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Excerpt:
TikTok experienced downtime for a few hours on Sunday following a U.S. Supreme Court decision that upheld a federal law requiring its Chinese parent company, ByteDance, to divest ownership or face an outright ban in the U.S. by Jan. 19, 2025. President Trump intervened, however, announcing on Sunday that he would issue an executive order the next day to “extend the period before the law’s prohibitions take effect,” allowing time for a possible deal. As a result, TikTok quickly declared it was back in operation in the U.S.
Now America faces an even more dangerous data security landscape because, anticipating a looming TikTok ban, many American users had begun searching for alternatives. One app that has emerged as a popular choice for these so-called TikTok “refugees” is “Red Note,” a Chinese app that has rapidly gained traction in the U.S. Taylor Lorenz, a former tech writer for The New York Times and The Washington Post, has taken to X to encourage her followers to join her on Red Note, labeling it “the hottest new social app in America!!”
Red Note is owned by Xingin Information Technology, a company based in Shanghai. The app’s Chinese name is Xiaohongshu, which translates to “Little Red Book.” This name pays tribute to the small book containing quotes from the speeches and writings of Chinese Communist dictator Chairman Mao. During China’s Cultural Revolution, millions of Chinese citizens were required to carry these little books with bright red covers to study and memorize Mao’s words anytime and anywhere. The book was also a popular wedding gift during that era, as it was one of the few items readily available amid widespread shortages of other goods.
