Thousands of TikTok users have flocked to another Chinese social media application, RedNote, as the U.S. Supreme Court considers a case that could ban the platform in the United States over national security concerns.
Over 50,000 American and Chinese users joined a live chat on RedNote titled “TikTok refugees,” Reuters reported earlier this week. In only a matter of days, over 700,000 users had joined the platform, a source close to the company told the wire service.
As of Wednesday, the hashtag “TikTok refugee” reached over 250 million views and over 5.5 million comments, according to CNN.
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The platform RedNote, known as Xiaohongshu in China, was at the top of U.S. download rankings this week as social media users in the U.S. appear to be searching for an alternative app to TikTok.
Founded in 2013, the social media platform Xiaohongshu, which means “Little Red Book,” has expanded in popularity, particularly in the U.S. The research firm Qian Gua, cited by CNN, reports that Xiaohongshu has 300 million users, making it one of China’s most popular social media apps.
According to estimates from app data research firm Sensor Tower, which Reuters cited in its report, U.S. downloads of RedNote were up more than 200% year-over-year this week. The downloads also went up 194% from the week prior.
The platform’s surge in growth comes ahead of the Supreme Court decision on whether to uphold a law requiring TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, to either sell the app to a U.S. company or shut down operations in the country by Jan. 19.
While the bill received bipartisan support, with President Joe Biden signing it into law last April, TikTok and a group of its users challenged it, claiming the law violated their First Amendment rights.
As Axios reported on Monday, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments about the law on Jan. 10, with the outlet noting that the justices appeared inclined to uphold the law. Several justices noted during oral arguments that TikTok could continue operating if it used an algorithm that ByteDance did not create.
“The law doesn’t say TikTok has to shut down. It says ByteDance has to divest,” Justice Amy Coney Barrett, a Trump appointee, said during oral arguments.
TikTok has raised alarms for lawmakers like Former Wisconsin Republican Rep. Mike Gallagher, who led the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party and has argued that the Chinese government could use the platform to collect user data or push propaganda.
“TikTok essentially argued today that a qualified divestment is impossible because the source code and engineering remain in China,” Gallagher said in a statement last week about the case involving the social media platform.
“That pretty much proves the point: as long as TikTok and ByteDance are beholden to the CCP, the national security threat is too big to ignore,” he added.
TikTok did not respond to The Christian Post’s request for comment.
As sources familiar with the matter told Reuters this week, TikTok plans to shut down operations of the social media platform in the U.S. The sources say that the company plans to allow users to take records of their personal information by downloading all of their data.
The outlet reported that if TikTok is banned, then users will receive a pop-up that directs them to another site with information about the ban.
Regarding the Jan. 19 deadline, Democratic Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., sought an extension, arguing that the online communities TikTok users have created “cannot be replicated on another app.” Markey conceded that TikTok has problems but expressed concern that a ban would negatively impact Americans who rely on the application for social connections and their economic livelihood.
Republican Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., blocked the attempt at extending the deadline, reasoning that lawmakers only required that China no longer control the platform. He also asserted that TikTok’s owners had time to find a buyer but opted to lobby and take legal action instead.
“So, the end is coming for Chinese Communist-controlled TikTok. Perhaps a sale can be closed by Sunday, though I seriously doubt it,” Cotton stated.
“Even so, that sale would have to pass legal review and guarantee that China retains no residual influence at the company or through its algorithm. No residual influence whatsoever. But one way or the other, Communist China will no longer exert this massive influence over our nation and our kids,” the Republican lawmaker added.
Samantha Kamman is a reporter for The Christian Post. She can be reached at: samantha.kamman@christianpost.com. Follow her on Twitter: @Samantha_Kamman
