While the USA is gently preparing to block TikTok in the country, due to a lack of a local buyer (even if Elon Musk seems strongly interested in the idea), some current users are looking for a solution to not be deprived of their famous social network , and try a bet… probably losing, as reported by The Verge.
Indeed, a wave of new users straight from Uncle Sam have downloaded and started using Xiaohongshu, which can be translated as RedNote (almost literally “little red book”). And the wave is quite big: more than 700,000 new subscribers come from the USA, hoping to continue on a social network close to the original after January 19.
If the information seems amusing, it also has big international implications: the app being “normally intended” for the Chinese population (it is not translated), the content is also logically very local. However, Americans are now posting images, videos, and messages that do not pass Chinese censorship, whether politically or socially.
The company responsible for the app therefore finds itself deleting many American posts, and a new pressure is added on its shoulders, with on the one hand the US government which risks offering the same fate to this app as to TikTok, and on the other the Chinese government which strongly insisted on the fact that posts from US users should not appear among Chinese users… atmosphere.
On a more security level, Cooper Quintin, manager at the EFF (Electronic Frontier Foundation), indicates that “anyone who is even remotely interested in protecting their privacy” should think twice before installing RedNote, reminding that the foundation has the same concerns about Facebook.
People looking for alternative social media apps should be cautious about the implications of sharing their personal information with an app that hasn’t been studied outside of China. It’s certainly not a platform that promotes freedom of expression — it’s a heavily censored app on topics like politics, drugs and addictions, and sexuality is also heavily controlled, much more. than on similar networks. It is also a platform that will not protect you from US government surveillance, as the app shares data with Facebook and Google advertising platforms.
