Exclusive | China-owned TikTok alternative RedNotes surge in US sparks alarm over serious security risks
The bizarre surge in popularity in the US for China-based social media app RedNote ahead of the looming TikTok ban has sparked alarm among policy experts – who warned it carries even greater security risks than the popular video-sharing app.More than 700,000 US users – some calling themselves “TikTok Refugees” — joined RedNote in the last two days despite the content on the site being mostly in Mandarin.But the language barrier is far from the biggest concern.Critics told The Post that the app has even fewer guardrails in place for American users than TikTok, whose parent company ByteDance faces a Sunday deadline to divest the app in the US due to national security concerns.“TikTok is FourLoko to RedNote’s fentanyl-laced painkiller,” said Nathan Leamer, a former FCC policy adviser and CEO of Fixed Gear Strategies.
“Whereas TikTok pretends to have safeguards and has a US presence to give a veneer of credibility, RedNote doesn’t even try to hide its connection to the Chinese Communist Party.”RedNote carries “serious cybersecurity and privacy risks” for American users, added Adrianus Warmenhoven, a cybersecurity expert at NordVPN.Known in China as Xiaohongshu, which translates to “little red book” in English, the name refers to the infamous propaganda booklets full of quotes by Communist China’s founder Mao Zedong.The app’s terms of service are written in Mandarin, which presents an obstacle to English-speaking users trying to understand its data practices.“Like TikTok, RedNote is subject to Chinese data laws, which may grant government authorities access to user data without the privacy protections expected in the US,” Warmenhoven said.“The platform collects extensive personal data, including location, browsing activity, and device-specific information like IP addresses.”As a Chinese app, RedNote is required to follow the Chinese Communist Party’s standards “potentially stifling free speech and exposing users to biased i...