TikTok faces U.S. ban, China’s RedNote tops Apple App Store list

Chinese social media app RedNote has surged to the top of the charts Apple's app store, highlighting concerns that TikTok will soon be effectively banned in the United States

RedNote (known as Little Red Book in China) is the #1 free app on the Internet apple The app will be available in app stores starting Monday, followed by TikTok's photo-sharing Lemon8 app and OpenAI's ChatGPT.

Many TikTok creators are rushing to find alternatives to continue posting videos while waiting to see what happens with TikTok, which could face a January 19 ban in the United States. The Supreme Court held oral arguments last week on the April law, setting the stage for TikTok. ban, and appears to bolster the U.S. government’s argument that ByteDance’s ownership of TikTok poses a national security risk.

Lawyers representing TikTok and its creators argue that the law violates free speech protections for millions of U.S. users.

If the Supreme Court upholds the law, third-party service providers, e.g. apple and Google would be punished for supporting TikTok, effectively banning the app in the United States. It is unclear whether President-elect Donald Trump, who takes office on January 20, will choose to enforce the law.

Some TikTok creators are making contingency plans by migrating to RedNote.

A content creator with the username allieusyaps said in a post on Monday that while it is “ok” that TikTok may be banned in the United States, he and other TikTok creators “will not be returning to Instagram and Facebook” as they join the popular notes.

“Listen, I might not have a job next week, but we’re going to learn Mandarin baby!” the user wrote.

Another TikTok creator named Krystan Walmsley posted a short video teaching people how to set up and decorate their RedNote accounts.

“The app is really cute and a lot of fun so far,” Walmsley said.

Headquartered in Shanghai, RedNote was founded in 2013 and is increasingly facing challenges Alibaba Douyin (ByteDance’s version of TikTok in China) is used in e-commerce and social media. According to the South China Morning Post, it had approximately 300 million monthly active users as of July 2024.

RedNote was valued at $17 billion after raising money in July from investors including Boyu Capital and Sequoia Capital Group, the former China investment arm of Sequoia Capital, according to PitchBook data. PitchBook said the company has raised more than $900 million in funding and has more than 2,000 employees.

Representatives for RedNote and TikTok did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

watch: TikTok is regarded as “Chinese eyes and ears in Western society.”