Lawmakers Face Unintended Consequences as a TikTok Ban Approaches
The Chinese apps RedNote and Lemon8 have surged in popularity amid the looming ban on TikTok and the recent Supreme Court decision that upheld the law requiring its sale.
TroibNews 
Lawmakers have been working to eliminate TikTok due to what they perceive as its connections to the Chinese Communist Party, but their actions may have inadvertently exacerbated the situation.
As TikTok faces a potential ban and the Supreme Court upheld legislation mandating its sale, the Chinese apps RedNote and Lemon8 have experienced a surge in popularity. This trend indicates that TikTok’s U.S. users are favoring these new alternatives over American platforms like Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts, which were anticipated to benefit from a ban on TikTok. Instead, users have migrated to platforms with even stronger ties to China, making the landscape more complicated for legislators concerned about foreign social media influence.
Justice Neil Gorsuch, a conservative appointed by President-elect Donald Trump, addressed the potential for other apps to fill the void left by TikTok in a recent concurring opinion. “Whether this law will succeed in achieving its ends, I do not know. A determined foreign adversary may just seek to replace one lost surveillance application with another,” he wrote.
RedNote, known as "Little Red Book" in Chinese—a nod to Mao Zedong’s influential work—has recently become the most-downloaded app, as reported by both Google Play and App Store rankings. Lemon8, owned by ByteDance, follows closely behind in popularity.
Sen. Ed Markey remarked on this shift, noting, “This migration towards RedNote is a very good example of the law of unintended consequences, which the Congress right now doesn’t know anything about,” highlighting a lack of foresight among lawmakers regarding the potential outcomes of their legislation.
Rep. John Moolenaar, chair of the House China Select Committee, explained the TikTok law grants the president authority to classify any app owned by a foreign adversary as a national security threat and compel divestment, specifically naming TikTok and ByteDance while casting Lemon8 in the spotlight. “The good news is that President Trump has the authority under the TikTok bill to force divestment of other [Chinese Communist Party] controlled applications that pose national security risks as well,” Moolenaar noted in an email.
While TikTok previously attracted numerous political candidates, there appears to be no similar trend among lawmakers on RedNote. An examination of the app revealed several accounts impersonating prominent political figures, including President Joe Biden and Trump, with some marked as parodies.
Responses from both Biden’s administration and Trump's transition team regarding the emerging Chinese alternatives were not immediately forthcoming. The expected ban on TikTok, aligning with inauguration weekend, has plunged the issue into untested legal terrain, with the outgoing administration indicating no extensions or significant penalties for companies like Google and Apple regarding TikTok.
Trump stated, “Everyone must respect” the Supreme Court’s ruling but expressed intent to negotiate a deal preserving the app, with expectations for TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew to attend his inauguration. Previously, Trump had attempted to impose bans on TikTok and the Chinese app WeChat.
In a video posted following the court ruling, Chew appealed directly to Trump, asserting TikTok’s commitment to ensuring the platform’s success moving forward while hinting at future developments.
The Chinese embassy in the U.S. welcomed American users on RedNote. “The platform opened a window for cross-cultural communication, and for both #Chinese and #American people to learn more about each other,” spokesperson Liu Pengyu stated on X.
RedNote is one of the few social media applications accessible both within and outside of China, contrasting with TikTok, which remains barred in the country due to Beijing’s extensive “Great Firewall” prohibiting U.S. platforms like Facebook and Instagram.
The surge in popularity of these Chinese alternatives is likely to catch U.S. social media firms off guard, as they anticipated deriving benefits from TikTok's ban.
Carl Holshouser, head of government relations at TechNet—which includes members like Meta and Google but not TikTok—asserted, “I know that there are plenty of alternatives by great American companies like Meta, Instagram, Facebook, X and YouTube, where consumers can migrate to continue to have expression.”
In Congress, while lawmakers acknowledged the challenges posed by RedNote and Lemon8, few offered solutions. Sen. Mike Rounds, a senior member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, indicated that the law targeting TikTok was a unique case and hadn’t considered applying it to other apps. “Any of them which have an ownership interest with the Chinese Communist Party or where they control it, we have concerns about,” he stated.
Lawmakers emphasized the necessity of a broader strategy to combat the influence of Chinese technology rather than an app-by-app response. “You cannot have a site-by-site or app-by-app approach to the Chinese strategy to infiltrate American homes with their technology,” Sen. Chris Murphy argued. Yet, many acknowledged that Congress may continue to tackle these challenges piecemeal. “Just keep knocking them down,” quipped Sen. Kevin Cramer.
Other legislators noted the need to focus on TikTok first before addressing potentially problematic alternatives. “Right now, we’re taking it one at a time, and TikTok is the issue for us,” said Sen. John Kennedy.
The future of RedNote and Lemon8 remains uncertain, particularly if TikTok receives an unexpected reprieve. University of Pennsylvania law professor Gus Hurwitz suggested that app stores may be cautious about hosting Chinese alternatives under the TikTok law. “They’re not going to be allowed any more than TikTok is,” he remarked. “The companies — the Googles and Apples — they’re going to be vigilant looking for these non-TikTok apps that also need to be removed.”
Alfred Ng contributed to this report.
Allen M Lee contributed to this report for TROIB News
As TikTok faces a potential ban and the Supreme Court upheld legislation mandating its sale, the Chinese apps RedNote and Lemon8 have experienced a surge in popularity. This trend indicates that TikTok’s U.S. users are favoring these new alternatives over American platforms like Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts, which were anticipated to benefit from a ban on TikTok. Instead, users have migrated to platforms with even stronger ties to China, making the landscape more complicated for legislators concerned about foreign social media influence.
Justice Neil Gorsuch, a conservative appointed by President-elect Donald Trump, addressed the potential for other apps to fill the void left by TikTok in a recent concurring opinion. “Whether this law will succeed in achieving its ends, I do not know. A determined foreign adversary may just seek to replace one lost surveillance application with another,” he wrote.
RedNote, known as "Little Red Book" in Chinese—a nod to Mao Zedong’s influential work—has recently become the most-downloaded app, as reported by both Google Play and App Store rankings. Lemon8, owned by ByteDance, follows closely behind in popularity.
Sen. Ed Markey remarked on this shift, noting, “This migration towards RedNote is a very good example of the law of unintended consequences, which the Congress right now doesn’t know anything about,” highlighting a lack of foresight among lawmakers regarding the potential outcomes of their legislation.
Rep. John Moolenaar, chair of the House China Select Committee, explained the TikTok law grants the president authority to classify any app owned by a foreign adversary as a national security threat and compel divestment, specifically naming TikTok and ByteDance while casting Lemon8 in the spotlight. “The good news is that President Trump has the authority under the TikTok bill to force divestment of other [Chinese Communist Party] controlled applications that pose national security risks as well,” Moolenaar noted in an email.
While TikTok previously attracted numerous political candidates, there appears to be no similar trend among lawmakers on RedNote. An examination of the app revealed several accounts impersonating prominent political figures, including President Joe Biden and Trump, with some marked as parodies.
Responses from both Biden’s administration and Trump's transition team regarding the emerging Chinese alternatives were not immediately forthcoming. The expected ban on TikTok, aligning with inauguration weekend, has plunged the issue into untested legal terrain, with the outgoing administration indicating no extensions or significant penalties for companies like Google and Apple regarding TikTok.
Trump stated, “Everyone must respect” the Supreme Court’s ruling but expressed intent to negotiate a deal preserving the app, with expectations for TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew to attend his inauguration. Previously, Trump had attempted to impose bans on TikTok and the Chinese app WeChat.
In a video posted following the court ruling, Chew appealed directly to Trump, asserting TikTok’s commitment to ensuring the platform’s success moving forward while hinting at future developments.
The Chinese embassy in the U.S. welcomed American users on RedNote. “The platform opened a window for cross-cultural communication, and for both #Chinese and #American people to learn more about each other,” spokesperson Liu Pengyu stated on X.
RedNote is one of the few social media applications accessible both within and outside of China, contrasting with TikTok, which remains barred in the country due to Beijing’s extensive “Great Firewall” prohibiting U.S. platforms like Facebook and Instagram.
The surge in popularity of these Chinese alternatives is likely to catch U.S. social media firms off guard, as they anticipated deriving benefits from TikTok's ban.
Carl Holshouser, head of government relations at TechNet—which includes members like Meta and Google but not TikTok—asserted, “I know that there are plenty of alternatives by great American companies like Meta, Instagram, Facebook, X and YouTube, where consumers can migrate to continue to have expression.”
In Congress, while lawmakers acknowledged the challenges posed by RedNote and Lemon8, few offered solutions. Sen. Mike Rounds, a senior member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, indicated that the law targeting TikTok was a unique case and hadn’t considered applying it to other apps. “Any of them which have an ownership interest with the Chinese Communist Party or where they control it, we have concerns about,” he stated.
Lawmakers emphasized the necessity of a broader strategy to combat the influence of Chinese technology rather than an app-by-app response. “You cannot have a site-by-site or app-by-app approach to the Chinese strategy to infiltrate American homes with their technology,” Sen. Chris Murphy argued. Yet, many acknowledged that Congress may continue to tackle these challenges piecemeal. “Just keep knocking them down,” quipped Sen. Kevin Cramer.
Other legislators noted the need to focus on TikTok first before addressing potentially problematic alternatives. “Right now, we’re taking it one at a time, and TikTok is the issue for us,” said Sen. John Kennedy.
The future of RedNote and Lemon8 remains uncertain, particularly if TikTok receives an unexpected reprieve. University of Pennsylvania law professor Gus Hurwitz suggested that app stores may be cautious about hosting Chinese alternatives under the TikTok law. “They’re not going to be allowed any more than TikTok is,” he remarked. “The companies — the Googles and Apples — they’re going to be vigilant looking for these non-TikTok apps that also need to be removed.”
Alfred Ng contributed to this report.
Allen M Lee contributed to this report for TROIB News
