The TikTok ban is likely to go into effect in the United States in the coming days, following the Supreme Court's unanimous decision on Friday to reject an appeal against the law ordering the ban.
Online tribune reports that the Supreme Court ruling upheld a lower court's decision that the law does not infringe on free speech rights.
TikTok, one of the world's most popular short-form video platforms and a cornerstone of the multibillion-dollar influencer economy, has been at the center of a legal and political battle for more than a year.
ByteDance, TikTok's parent company, was initially ordered to sell the app to a US buyer by January 2024. However, no sale has yet been closed, paving the way for the impending ban.
In response to the impending ban, TikTok users in the United States are now turning to alternative apps.
One of the most popular alternatives is RedNote, a Chinese e-commerce and social media app known in Chinese as Xiaohongshu.
Founded by Miranda Qu and Charlwin Mao in June 2013, RedNote began as an online tour guide for Chinese shoppers, allowing users to review products and share shopping experiences with the community.
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In 2020, approximately 70% of the platform's users were born after 1990, and a similar percentage were women.
The app's home page features a Pinterest-style “notes” layout, and its focus on lifestyle topics has given it an advantage over traditional Chinese search engines. This has established it as a next-generation search engine, earning it the title of “National Lifestyle Guide.”
RedNote will also launch Diandian, an AI-based search tool that is currently in beta testing.
According to CNN, many American users who joined the app this week said their decision was driven by a defiance of the US government following its ban from TikTok due to national security concerns related to ByteDance.
The rise of new users on RedNote, which was previously popular primarily among the Chinese-speaking community, has led to fun cultural exchanges.
Users have been sharing Mandarin lessons, discussing Internet slang in Chinese and English, and advocating for the introduction of automatic subtitles in both languages.
Meanwhile, language learning platform Duolingo reported a 216% increase in new Mandarin learners compared to the same period last year, likely influenced by the influx of Americans onto RedNote, which hosts a significant amount of Mandarin content. .
In addition to RedNote, other TikTok alternative apps that attract American users include Lemon8, Clapper, Flip, and Fanbase, among others.
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