What is the Chinese app RedNote and could it become the next TikTok?
Chinese app RedNote, known as Xiaohongshu in China, is growing in popularity as users seek alternatives to TikTok.
As the possibility of a TikTok ban for 170 million users in the United States looms, the question arises: what is the level of public support for this ban?
Not much.
Between March 2023 and August 2024, support for the ban fell from 50% to 32% of Americans, according to a Pew Research Center poll released in September. Pew told USA TODAY on Wednesday that this is the most recent data available.
During this same period, the number of Americans opposed to the ban increased from 22% to 28%. A petition on change.org titled “Keep TikTok − Protect National Security Without Sacrificing Opportunity” has garnered more than 120,000 signatures since it was posted in December.
One option to save TikTok at the last minute is through the U.S. Supreme Court. The latter is currently determining the fate of the ban, with experts predicting the Supreme Court is likely to uphold it. No judgment had been rendered as of the end of the day Wednesday.
Declining popular support
According to the Pew Research Center, about 50% of Americans surveyed supported a ban on TikTok while 22% were opposed to it in March 2023.
-The poll also found that support for the ban has declined among both major political parties. As of March 2023, 60% of Republicans and 43% of Democrats favored banning. By the fall, only 42% of Republicans and 24% of Democrats supported him.
So what’s going on with TikTok?
TikTok and its Chinese parent ByteDance are trying to block a law signed by President Joe Biden that would ban the video app starting Jan. 19 unless it sells its U.S. operations due to national security concerns.
The social media giant asked the Supreme Court to stay the ban during legal proceedings, and although the justices heard arguments last week, no decision has yet been announced. If the ban takes effect on Sunday, Apple and Google will no longer be able to offer TikTok for download to new users, but existing users will still be able to access the application.
The U.S. government and TikTok agree that the app will degrade and ultimately become unusable over time because the companies will be unable to offer support services.
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The situation raises interesting questions regarding the balance between national security and freedom of access to social media platforms. At a time when more and more digital tools are essential to communication and creativity, how can decision-makers navigate these issues?
