Chinese social media app RedNote has skyrocketed to the top Apple App Store, highlighting fears that TikTok will soon be effectively banned in the US
RedNote, or Xiaohongshu as it is known in China, is the #1 free app on the market Apple App Store on Monday, followed by TikTok photo-sharing app Lemon8 and OpenAI's ChatGPT.
Many TikTok creators are rushing to find alternatives where they can continue to post videos while waiting to see what happens with TikTok, which faces a potential ban on January 19 in the US. The Supreme Court held oral arguments last week on the April bill setting the stage for the ban and appeared to side with more people is favorable to the arguments of the US government that ByteDance's ownership of TikTok poses a national security risk.
Lawyers representing TikTok and its creators argued that it was illegal violates protecting the free speech of millions of users in the US.
If the Supreme Court upholds the law, third-party service providers such as Apple AND Google will be punished for supporting TikTok, which will effectively block the application in the US. It is unclear whether President-elect Donald Trump, who takes office on January 20, will decide to enforce the law.
Some TikTok creators are implementing contingency plans by migrating to RedNote.
One content creator, using the username allieusyaps, said: post on Monday that while “there is nothing wrong with TikTok potentially being banned in the U.S., he and other TikTok creators “are not returning to Instagram and Facebook” because they have joined RedNote.
“Listen, I might not have a job next week, but we'll learn Mandarin soon, honey!” wrote a user.
Another TikTok creator named Krystan Walmsley sent a short video showing you how to set up and decorate your RedNote accounts.
“This app is really sweet and a lot of fun so far,” Walmsley said.
RedNote, headquartered in Shanghai, was founded in 2013 and is facing increasing challenges Alibaba and Douyin, ByteDance's e-commerce and social media version of TikTok in China. According to a report by South China Morning Post.
According to PitchBook, RedNote was valued at $17 billion after raising funding in July from investors such as Boyu Capital and HongShan Capital Group, formerly the Chinese investment arm of Sequoia Capital. Total funding has raised more than $900 million and has more than 2,000 employees, PitchBook said.
Representatives for RedNote and TikTok did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
To watch: : TikTok seen as “Chinese eyes and ears in Western society”.
