AMERICANS FLOCK TO CHINESE APP REDNOTE AS TIKTOK BAN LOOMS
As the impending shutdown of TikTok looms, Americans are turning to a Chinese-owned app called RedNote as an alternative. RedNote, also known as Xiaohongshu in Chinese, is a platform for sharing short-form videos similar to TikTok. The app has risen to the top of the app store, becoming the most downloaded app in America.
RedNote’s popularity is due in part to its video and live-streaming features, as well as its focus on e-commerce, allowing users to blend social media with online shopping. The app’s content is mostly in Chinese, as it is owned by a Chinese company.
TikTok’s Chinese parent company, ByteDance, must sell the app to a government-approved buyer by January 19 or face a ban due to national security concerns. The decision has sparked controversy due to the platform’s wild popularity, with about 170 million people in the US using TikTok, roughly half of the country’s population.
If ByteDance doesn’t sell TikTok, app stores will be forced to stop distributing or updating the app, essentially forcing it to die out. Companies like Apple and Google would be banned from helping to keep TikTok going, and the app would slowly degrade without any upkeep and eventually become unusable.
In response to the looming ban, TikTok creators are asking their followers to find them on other social media platforms like Instagram and YouTube. Meanwhile, RedNote is gaining popularity as an alternative, with many users expressing their excitement for the app on social media.