Taiwan Bans Chinese App RedNote for One Year

Taiwan announced on Thursday that it would immediately ban the Chinese social media platform Xiaohongshu for a year due to its potential for fraud.

Xiaohongshu, also known as Rednote in English, would be blocked, according to a statement from Taiwan’s interior ministry, which described it as a possible “high-risk area for online shopping fraud.”

The ministry stated that since 2024, authorities have linked the platform to over 1,700 fraud cases resulting in losses of more than 247.7 million New Taiwan dollars ($7.9 million). The app has nearly 3 million users on the island, the ministry claimed.

Additionally, officials stated that Taiwan lacks jurisdiction over the company, making it “significantly difficult” for Taiwanese law enforcement agencies to obtain the information they need.

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Taiwan Highlights Major Risks Behind the Ban

The National Security Bureau’s cybersecurity examinations revealed that the app RedNote failed all 15 signs, according to the interior ministry.

Ma Shih-yuan, the deputy minister of the interior, stated during a press conference on Thursday that Taiwan’s internet service providers were directed to prevent access to the RedNote app.

Additionally, the ministry called on foreign websites like Google to “completely cease publishing Xiaohongshu advertisements.”

Authorities cautioned the public not to download the RedNote app or to stop using it if they had already done so.

Political Debate Over Internet Freedom

The opposition Kuomintang party’s chairperson, Cheng Li-wun, wrote on Facebook that the ruling Democratic Progressive Party’s ban on Xiaohongshu “significantly [restricts] Internet freedom” and that it is “a starting-point for building the Great Wall of the Internet.”

When CNBC asked for comments, Xiaohongshu, Apple, and Google did not immediately reply.

Taiwan banned Xiaohongshu on official devices in 2022, citing it as a “united front” for Chinese propaganda.

Taiwan requested “concrete improvement measures” from Xiaohongshu’s parent firm, Xingyin Information Technology (Shanghai), in a letter earlier this year, but the business did not respond.

Xiaohongshu is extensively used in China and garnered fresh interest in the U.S. earlier this year amid a potential ban on its competitor TikTok. As a result, TikTok users flocked to Xiaohongshu, increasing the platform’s user base by almost 700,000.