The News
The increased likelihood of a TikTok ban in the US — stemming from national security concerns over its Chinese ownership — is leading users to an alternative with even closer China ties.
Xiaohongshu — which translates to “little red book” in Mandarin and is considered the Chinese equivalent of Instagram — became the No. 1 app in the US this week. The overwhelmingly Chinese userbase has embraced the influx of American users who are describing themselves as “TikTok refugees.”
While the migration to Xiaohongshu may not last, experts say the shift could test Beijing’s censorship efforts as well as the US government’s ability to control Americans’ engagement with technology that has links to foreign adversaries.
More immediately, the rise of the Chinese lifestyle app in the US has provided a rare opportunity for mass cross-cultural exchange between the two superpowers.
SIGNALS
Xiaohongshu becomes a ‘cyberspace bridge’ between US and China
Cultural differences, a fractured tech ecosystem, and foreign media censorship in China have minimized person-to-person engagement between the US and China. But Xiaohongshu “has transformed into a unique platform for cultural exchange, reminiscent of the early internet’s open forums,” Radii wrote. Some Americans say they are picking up Mandarin; Chinese users are seeking help with English homework; others are communicating with memes. In dozens of live chatrooms, users “explained to each other, probably for the first time in many cases, how their respective societies work and clarified common misunderstandings,” Wired reported. Both countries have pushed for greater cultural exchanges, and Xiaohongshu “suddenly became the cyberspace version of the China-U.S. bridge across the sea,” according to Coollabs, a Chinese science and tech blog.
Influx of foreigners could test limits of Xiaohongshu censorship
The law that could ban TikTok doesn’t specifically name Xiaohongshu, but stipulates that a “foreign adversary controlled application” could face a similar fate, Wired noted, opening up a pathway for scrutiny from Washington. But Americans’ swift embrace of the app could set up a “whack-a-mole” situation for US officials looking to restrict foreign app usage, an expert told The Washington Post: “We’ve probably spent too much energy worrying about the single app.” Meanwhile, the influx of foreign culture and languages could cause problems for Xiaohongshu, which is already heavily censored and could face heightened pressure over content moderation. Citing a source close to Xiaohongshu, Chinese outlet PConline reported that the surge has “become a Damocles’ sword hanging over” the app…“The risks far outweigh the opportunities.”
Embrace of a Chinese app amounts to mass Gen-Z ‘trolling’
Many Americans making the leap to Xiaohongshu seem to be doing so to push back against the US government’s attempt to ban TikTok, which is based in Singapore but owned by a Chinese company. Xiaohongshu is based in Shanghai, and its popularity in the US underscores the gulf between lawmakers and young internet users when it comes to concerns over data privacy and foreign apps. The founder of a Gen-Z business collective described it as mass “trolling,” while Vulture summarized the dynamic this way: “The U.S. government said “Don’t give a Chinese company your data,” and the American public said ‘🖕 😎 🖕’”