United States vs. TikTok: the attempted ban of the social network triggered China’s popularity

At least as of this writing, WIRED is still waiting for a Supreme Court decision on the future of TikTok, but we can’t say the same for users, who are already looking for alternatives to their favorite platform. In recent days, options Clapper, Flip and Lemon8 itself have reached the top of the app stores. The most popular of them all, Xiaohongshu or RedNote, made the biggest impression with its more than 700,000 new users.

The exodus, sparked by the attempted ban and carried out out of sheer spite, demonstrates how futile the more than five-year effort to “protect Americans from a dangerous app” has been. In fact, the remedy was more expensive than the disease.

The shot backfired

Time and time again, the US has said that its main objective in banning TikTok is to protect users from Chinese propaganda and safeguard their data. But it’s fair to say the government screwed up big time.

In just a few days, Xiaohongshu, whose definition in Spanish is “little red book”, has turned relations between China and the United States upside down. The app was founded in 2013 and acts as a sort of Chinese version of Instagram. Americans are not only consuming content in a app that actively censors photos and videos related to the Tiananmen Massacre, or eliminates all searches for “Xi Jinping”; but they are also vindictively agreeing to let the app track their data. In short, the opposite result of what Biden and the legislators were looking for.

Many Americans are also giving advice on how to better integrate with Xiaohongshu’s predominantly Chinese user base. A TikTok account posted a video asking new American users to “stop saying democracy” on the app. “If you are Taiwanese and in Xiaohongshu, you are now Chinese. Sorry.” I couldn’t find a single review in their comments section; On the contrary, many thanked him for his advice.

The attempt to ban TikTok has sparked more interest in China among Americans than anything else. “TikTok refugees” learn Mandarin by chatting with Chinese Xiaohongshu users or downloading language learning apps like Duolingo. “I’m learning with Duolingo and Red Note netizens. I even added the Chinese keyboard option to my phone,” wrote one TikTok user.

“I downloaded Red Note and had my first Duolingo Chinese lesson this morning ,” said another. “Oh, so NOW you’re learning Mandarin,” tweeted the app to learn languages ​​on your official X account.