As the TikTok ban approaches, users are choosing platforms and currently the top destination is Xiaohongshu (Red Note), another Chinese app.
Red Note is a social network similar to TikTok that allows users to post videos, photos, text, and live streams. The app has gained 700,000 new users in recent days, according to Reuters, making it the most convenient free app on the App Store.
For many, however, downloading and signing up for the app is a form of protest, migrating from one Chinese app to another. Since the law banning TikTok can apply to any form of platform owned by a foreign adversary, Red Note is just as likely to be banned as TikTok.
Nonetheless, Red Note has a number one destination for “TikTok refugees,” with 100,000 users joining an in-app organization chat for users migrating from TikTok.
Red Note is rarely the only Chinese platform users turn to as the ban approaches. TikTok has prompted users to sign up for Lemon8, another site run by TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance. Lemon8 had 3. 4 million new users in December, a cumulative 190% in downloads.
READ MORE: HERE IS TIKTOK’S BACKUP PLAN LIKE THE BAN ITSELF
Although the TikTok ban is not official yet, it is most likely going to happen. Immediately after President Biden signed the ban into law last year, TikTok hopefully announced that it would be overturned in court for violating the First Amendment. After being rejected in lower courts, TikTok’s argument is now considered to be presented by the Supreme Court, which will rule before the ban takes effect on January 19. However, judges have been coldly receptive to TikTok’s lawyers during the trial, making the likelihood low. that are related to the company.
TikTok’s final hope, therefore, is with President-elect Donald Trump who shares an affinity for the platform since his reelection, claiming TikTok helped him connect with young voters who swung the vote in his favor. Trump, however, can’t take any legal action to aid TikTok until he is sworn into office on Jan. 20, leaving the platform with at least one blackout day.
Trump has also won strongly on all US-based social media sites since his re-election, with many promising him millions of dollars. It is unclear whether this will replace his stance towards TikTok.
READ MORE: WILL THE SUPREME COURT RESPECT THE SAME TIKTOK BAN?WHAT WE KNOW
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