Another Chinese social networking app is seeing many new downloads in the United States as a potential ban of TikTok continues to loom.
Xiaohongshu, or RedNote in English, has become a replacement for TikTok should the wildly popular social media app go dark.
ByteDance, the Chinese company that owns TikTok, faces a Sunday, Jan. 19, deadline to sell its U.S. operations or be shut down due to security reasons. If it does not, Google and Apple app stores will not be able to distribute the app and internet browsers will be forced to make the site inaccessible.
Among all free iPhone apps, RedNote currently sits as the top social networking app on the Apple app store rankings.
Here’s what Arizonans need to know about RedNote and how it could replace TikTok.
What is RedNote?
Launched in 2013, RedNote has become one of China’s fastest-growing social platforms, with a value of over $17 billion, according to the Financial Times.
Known as Xiaohongshu, which translates to “little red book,” RedNote features a layout similar to Pinterest and is often described as a Chinese version of Instagram. According to TechCrunch, the app’s focus on short-term content, similar to TikTok, has helped it emerge as a viable alternative.
Fate of TikTok?The platform could be banned in US on Jan. 19. Here’s how Arizona users can save TikTok accounts
Why is TikTok getting banned in the US?
Concerns about national security stem from worries that ByteDance, which is based in Beijing, has access to American data and is sharing it with the Chinese government.
In 2020, Trump issued an executive order regarding TikTok. As part of the order, Trump tried to ban TikTok in the U.S. and prohibit any transactions with the company, according to the Trump White House archival website. However, this ban never went into place.
In 2021, Biden revoked Trump’s proposed ban and issued a new executive order regarding ByteDance, which said that the company “continues to threaten the national security, foreign policy and economy of the United States,” a U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit court opinion states. In 2022, Biden signed a bill that prohibited the use of TikTok on government devices.
On Friday, the United States Supreme Court heard arguments regarding TikTok, and it seemed ready to uphold the ban.
If the Supreme Court upholds the legislation, ByteDance will have until Sunday to divest the U.S. operation of TikTok. The decision could be released at any time.
During Friday’s hearing, Justice Samuel Alito asked if the court could temporarily block the law or administratively halt the law temporarily.
When is TikTok being banned?
If TikTok’s U.S. operations are not sold, it will be banned on Sunday, Jan. 19.
What to know about TikTok in Arizona
TikTok was already banned from most state-owned cellphones and electronic devices. Gov. Katie Hobbs signed an executive order in April 2023.
Hobb’s order directed state agencies to remove the app from state-owned and state-leased devices, as well as personal devices used for state work. Democratic Attorney General Kris Mayes also announced at the time that she had banned her office’s staff from using the application on state computers, cellphones and tablets.
“This is a necessary step to ensure the protection of state data and reflects our commitment to keeping Arizonans safe,” Hobbs said in a statement. “My office is working closely with state entities to ensure this transition happens smoothly.”
The decision sought to limit the use of the wildly popular social networking application over concerns it is a source of misinformation and a cyber security risk.
TikTok also has an office in Scottsdale, where employees work for its U.S. Data Security department.
The video platform posted four job openings on its site in November 2023, all for the data security division, which the company describes as a “standalone department” for TikTok in the United States.
“Our focus is on providing oversight and protection of the TikTok platform and user data in the U.S.,” the company wrote in the job posting.
Arizona Republic reporters Corina Vanek and Stacey Barchenger and USA TODAY reporters Greta Cross and Anthony Robledo contributed to this article.
