Free Republic

TikTok refugees fled by the millions to RedNote, a Chinese app, in response to the TikTok ban, which went into effect Jan. 19, 2025. The company shut down the app shortly before midnight on Jan. 18 but restored service the following day. The app was unavailable to download from the Apple and Google app stores on Jan. 19. Through cat memes, shared jokes about the ban and honest conversations about usually avoided topics, former TikTokers and RedNote natives are bridging years of U.S.-China digital separation. This spontaneous convergence recalls the internet’s original dream of a global village. It’s a glimmer...

Chinese social media app RedNote has become a leading alternative for TikTok users concerned about the latter app’s ban set to take effect on Jan. 19, though, according to multiple outlets, RedNote could potentially face its own ban in the U.S. not long after. The language in the law against TikTok, known as the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act, prohibits all apps developed by foreign adversaries like China from being hosted in American app stores or by internet hosting services, spelling trouble for RedNote, which is headquartered in China and owned by Shanghai-based Xingyin Information Technology. An...

With the TikTok ban looming in less than a week, creators are scrambling to find a replacement. Many have simply migrated over to TikTok’s direct American competitors, like Instagram Reels or YouTube Shorts. But another unlikely challenger has emerged: the Chinese-owned Xiaohongshu, a social media app often referred to as Red Note in English. While Red Note had previously catered almost exclusively to Chinese audiences, Americans are flooding onto the platform this week, making it the number one on the App Store for two days straight. Lemon8, a separate Chinese social media app owned by TikTok’s owner ByteDance, sits at...