'TikTok refugees' unexpectedly turn to Chinese alternative as ban looms

TAIPEI, Taiwan — TikTok users acrophobic astir a imaginable prohibition are uncovering solace successful a unusual place.

Days up of a Supreme Court determination that could find whether the fashionable short-video app shuts down starting Sunday, a fig of users look to beryllium turning to an app called RedNote — much commonly known to its majority-Chinese assemblage by its Chinese name, Xiaohongshu.

It’s a astonishing prime since Xiaohongshu is Chinese-owned, and specified ties are the crushed U.S. lawmakers moved to prohibition TikTok successful the U.S., citing privateness and nationalist information concerns.

Also, Xiaohongshu is dominated by Chinese language, and its contented is taxable to censorship by Chinese authorities officials, thing alien to astir U.S. users.

But by embracing a Chinese societal media and manner app akin to Instagram, immoderate U.S. TikTok users accidental they are protesting what they judge would beryllium an unfair prohibition of the ubiquitous app.

“I deliberation America is trying to bully China into selling to an American owner. A batch of america conscionable don’t privation to springiness successful to them,” said Samantha Manassero, a 39-year-old caregiver successful L.A. who downloaded Xiaohongshu connected Sunday nighttime aft watching contented creators connected TikTok transportation it arsenic a comparable app. “I deliberation immoderate of it is virtually conscionable pettiness.”

Last year, Congress passed a measure that requires TikTok’s owner, ByteDance, to merchantability the app to a U.S.-approved proprietor oregon look a nationwide ban. As soon arsenic Wednesday, the Supreme Court is expected to uphold the legality of the ban.

It was unclear whether Xiaohongshu, which was started successful 2013, would go a viable alternate to TikTok oregon if the caller migration to the Chinese level accounts for a important stock of TikTok’s 170 cardinal U.S. users.

But a surge successful caller users made Xiaohongshu the apical escaped download connected Apple’s App Store this week. No. 2 connected the charts was different societal media app developed by ByteDance, Lemon8. It’s unclear whether either app volition beryllium subjected to the aforesaid U.S. authorities scrutiny arsenic TikTok.

It is besides hard to find precisely however galore U.S. TikTok users person created accounts connected Xiaohongshu oregon however galore volition enactment connected it. While galore Xiaohongshu regulars person welcomed the influx of Americans identifying themselves arsenic “TikTok refugees,” the app’s interface is mostly successful Chinese, making it hard to navigate for non-native speakers.

Chinese apps are taxable to stringent censorship connected discussions that the Chinese authorities deems politically sensitive. These topics tin see amerciable activities, LGBTQ+ rights and Winnie the Pooh, images of which person been utilized to mock Chinese President Xi Jinping.

The Chinese mentation of TikTok, called Douyin, has antithetic contented restrictions and is disposable lone for mobile download successful China. ByteDance has argued that TikTok, which is utilized by the remainder of the world, is simply a abstracted entity from Douyin and not beholden to the Chinese Communist Party.

That did not halt President-elect Donald Trump from proposing a prohibition of TikTok successful 2020, oregon President Biden from signing it into instrumentality successful 2024.

The legality of specified a prohibition has been questioned respective times. Last month, successful an about-face, Trump, who has 14.8 cardinal followers connected TikTok, filed a ineligible little requesting to enactment the prohibition truthful helium tin negociate a woody erstwhile helium takes office.

As TikTok faces an uncertain future, Xiaohongshu’s latest arrivals were anxious to effort retired the caller app contempt its overseas nature.

Manassero, who posts videos astir healthcare and powerfulness lifting to astir 7,000 followers connected TikTok, said she has a overmuch larger assemblage of 26,000 connected Instagram. However, she was motivated to make an relationship connected Xiaohongshu partially retired of vexation astatine the U.S. government’s determination to outlaw TikTok.

“I don’t cognize what I’m doing, I don’t cognize what I’m reading, I’m conscionable pressing buttons,” Manassero said successful her archetypal video post. The adjacent morning, her relationship had received 5,000 views and 3,500 caller followers. By Tuesday, the hashtag “#Tiktok refugee” had received much than 90 cardinal views and 2 cardinal comments.

TikTokers person sought retired 1 different with introductions, followed requests and shared tips connected however to navigate the app’s Chinese functions. On Monday, much than 190,000 viewers joined a unrecorded chat named the TikTok Refugees Club, and held discussions successful English astir what a TikTok prohibition would mean and aboriginal plans for societal media content. In the comments, users greeted caller arrivals and lamented they could not recognize each other.

“Maybe you tin larn however to talk Chinese,” 1 idiosyncratic wrote successful English.

“Where’s the translator?” different idiosyncratic asked successful Chinese.

On Tuesday, the Wall Street Journal reported that Chinese officials had discussed the anticipation of selling TikTok to a non-Chinese enactment specified arsenic Elon Musk, who already owns societal media level X. However, analysts said that ByteDance is improbable to hold to a merchantability of the underlying algorithm that powers the app, meaning the level nether a caller proprietor could inactive look drastically different.

Manassero and different TikTokers expressed distaste astatine the imaginable of migrating to U.S. tech platforms specified arsenic Instagram oregon X that could payment from an influx of users if TikTok shuts down.

“We don’t privation to crook astir and marque a clump of billionaires adjacent much rich,” Manassero said. “I would honestly alternatively the app get unopen down than beryllium owned by Elon Musk.”

Though she is inactive trying to fig retired however to usage Xiaohongshu and connection radical back, Manassero said she astir apt would enactment connected the Chinese manner app careless of whether the TikTok prohibition goes through.

“The effect has been truthful affable and nice. It’s bully energy,” she said. “This feels similar the aboriginal TikTok days: a small much organic, truthful it’s fun.”