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With TikTok set to be shut down on Sunday, January 19, as the Supreme Court this week upheld a federal ban, Gen Z is expressing their anger by flocking to a new communist Chinese app.

One party in Congress and the administrative state tell us that a TikTok ban is critical to national security and protecting Americans’ privacy. For nearly two years, I have maintained that the ban is neither about security nor privacy. Gen Z agrees that the purpose of the ban is social control.

In a digital revolt against the ban, hordes of young American "TikTok refugees" are now flocking to a Chinese social media platform called Xiaohongshu (RedNote in English). Nearly a million new users reportedly joined the Chinese app in just two days.

TikTok said it would "be plunged into darkness" on Sunday without "clear" assurances that the Biden administration will not enforce the ban

The RedNote migration was an act of rebellion, with users comparing themselves to defiant colonists in the Boston Tea Party and learning Mandarin out of resentment. One user parodied the final scene of The Breakfast Club to express why the RedNote rebellion was a "stick it out" moment.

RedNote’s Chinese name literally means “Little Red Book” – a disturbing callback to history. In the 1960s, the "Little Red Book" was a core tool of Chinese communist propaganda. It symbolized unwavering loyalty to Mao Zedong and became a key tool during China's brutal Cultural Revolution.

"The Little Red Book" is not only a collection of Mao Zedong's quotations; It is a weapon of ideological control. People are forced to remember its content, carry it with them, and even use it to justify violence. It embodies absolute obedience to Mao Zedong's regime.

The RedNote migration was an act of rebellion, with users comparing themselves to defiant colonists in the Boston Tea Party.

Now, Americans are turning to a platform named after one of the most notorious symbols of communist indoctrination. This reality is not lost on young people, myself included.

Yes, I downloaded RedNote, and here’s why: The TikTok ban is a troubling sign that the United States is emulating China’s social control tactics. Downloading RedNote is not an endorsement of China or communism; it is a bold act of defiance against American leaders who have betrayed the First Amendment.

Supreme Court upholds impending TikTok ban

U.S. social media companies are filled with former U.S. intelligence officials. Mark Zuckerberg himself admitted that Meta created a dedicated portal for the Biden administration and left-wing NGOs to censor speech that was unfavorable to the federal government.

Data from platforms like Facebook has been sold to China and other entities. If the U.S. government truly cared about protecting Americans' privacy, it would pass strong data privacy laws rather than ban a single app.

This has nothing to do with privacy or national security; this has nothing to do with privacy or national security. It's about control of information. Jen Easterly, director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (a subsidiary of the Department of Homeland Security), has publicly stated that the agency's primary goal is to protect "cognitive infrastructure," that is, our minds.

Even Arizona Democratic Senator Mark Kelly has publicly admitted that the TikTok ban is an attempt to control public speech.

This is in line with the government’s wider agenda: to manage narratives under the guise of national security. According to deep state whistleblower Mike Benz, Western intelligence agencies spread so-called "disinformation" and justify censorship because they fear a rise in populism, which they see as a threat to their power.

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Ironically, China itself has banned international versions of TikTok, allowing only CCP-approved versions to operate domestically. Why? Because they are communists. But at least they acknowledge that they are controlling the narrative. Our government makes us think this is about privacy.

Critics are eager to label Gen Z “TikTok refugees” as naive or communist sympathizers who downloaded RedNote. This couldn't be further from the truth. During the Spanish Civil War in the 1930s, my family was robbed, murdered, and nearly destroyed by the Communists. One extended family member, a Catholic priest, was forced to dig his own grave and be buried alive simply because of his faith. Communism is not just theft; It's diabolical.

It is precisely because I understand the dangers of communism that I oppose the TikTok ban. It’s not about loving TikTok or China; it’s about loving China. It’s about recognizing attacks on free speech. The RedNote migration is emblematic of an entire generation's rightful loss of faith in the government's commitment to upholding the Constitution.

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The federal government has thrown the First Amendment out the window. Conservatives understand this better than most. The Biden administration has jailed anti-abortionists, infiltrated traditional Catholic communities, censored dissident voices and even instigated a massive social media ban on President-elect Trump.

The TikTok ban rebellion isn’t just about one app; It’s a referendum on whether Americans will tolerate the federal government’s attempts to control public speech under the guise of national security. Gen Z’s revolt—both serious and ironic—is a resolute rejection of such excesses.

Click here to read more from Evita Duffy-Alfonso