House Chair on China Criticizes TikTok Rival RedNote Amid Concerns

RedNote, a new Chinese app, is gaining popularity as TikTok faces potential shutdown.

House Chair on China Criticizes TikTok Rival RedNote Amid Concerns
House Chair on China Criticizes TikTok Rival RedNote Amid Concerns

Midland: So, there’s this new Chinese app called RedNote that’s really taking off in the Apple app store. It’s like TikTok’s competition, and a lot of TikTok users are jumping ship to try it out. Why? Well, they’re worried about TikTok possibly getting shut down because of some new laws.

Rep. John Moolenaar, who heads a House committee looking into China, mentioned that RedNote could be next on the chopping block for divestment. He pointed out that just like TikTok, RedNote is owned by a Chinese company, which the US sees as a foreign threat.

This divest-or-ban law is a big deal. It means that apps owned by foreign adversaries might have to sell off their US operations or shut down completely. Moolenaar said that whether RedNote gets hit by this law is up to President-elect Donald Trump.

He even made a historical reference, saying, “Chairman Mao’s Little Red Book was key in China’s cultural revolution,” and now a Chinese app with a similar name wants to be the next TikTok. Moolenaar believes Trump has the power to force divestment of apps that could pose national security risks.

Interestingly, RedNote, which is also known as Xiaohongshu, didn’t respond when asked for comments. TikTok has claimed it doesn’t share user data with the Chinese government and that its US team handles content moderation independently.

Trump has said he wants to save TikTok from a ban, but he hasn’t made it clear if he’ll take action against other Chinese-owned apps. RedNote is kind of like a mix of Instagram and TikTok, and it started in China but has around 300 million users worldwide now. It’s definitely a space to watch!

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