What is RedNote? Chinese app shoots to #1 with TikTok ban looming
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TikTok ban set to take effect January 19 if American buyer not found. A Chinese short-form video app called Xiaohongshu is now the top free app in the Apple App Store, as social media users look to get out ahead of a potential U.S. TikTok ban set to take effect on Sunday.
Launched in 2013, RedNote is one of the most popular apps in China. In April, the U.S. Congress passed a bipartisan bill to ban TikTok unless it finds a new owner. Federal officials have argued the site is “a national-security threat of immense depth and scale” because of alleged links with China and concerns about U.S. users’ data being shared unlawfully with the Communist government.
TikTok and its parent company ByteDance have denied these allegations, and are currently challenging the TikTok ban at the Supreme Court. On Friday, the justices appeared skeptical of the company’s First Amendment arguments. “Congress doesn’t care about what’s on TikTok,” Chief Justice John Roberts said during oral arguments. “They don’t care about the expression. That’s shown by the remedy. They’re not saying TikTok has to stop. They’re saying the Chinese have to stop controlling TikTok.”.
The “law is only targeted at this foreign corporation, which doesn’t have First Amendment rights,” Justice Elena Kagan added. Donald Trump has sought to delay the ban, seeking a solution through, as his lawyer put it in a brief, “political means once he takes office.”.
