Chinese app RedNote could pose greater security risks than TikTok

S E E D E D   C O N T E N T

By Kevin Collier and Kat Tenbarge

As uncertainty hovers around the TikTok ban that could go into effect in the U.S. on Sunday, users are flocking to a Chinese app called RedNote. The app allows users to upload short-form videos and post photos like on TikTok, but technology experts and government insiders worry that RedNote poses more of a threat to security and privacy than TikTok does — the primary reason for the potential ban.

"I'm concerned that Americans are flocking to a number of adversary-owned social media platforms," Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., posted Tuesday on social media platform Bluesky. "We still need a comprehensive and risk-based approach to assessing and mitigating the risks of foreign-owned apps."

Warner didn't receive warm responses from commenters. Many Americans, both TikTok users and otherwise, have expressed outrage over the legislation that forces TikTok to either sell to a non-Chinese owner or be removed from app stores. On Thursday, two officials from President Joe Biden's administration told NBC News that it would not enforce the ban on Sunday, the last full day of Biden's presidency and the day the ban is supposed to go into effect. But it's still unclear what TikTok's future holds.

Meanwhile, as Americans settle into using RedNote, with some saying they're attempting to learn Mandarin to speak with Chinese locals, experts say the app poses risks. Cooper Quintin, senior staff technologist at the nonprofit digital rights group Electronic Frontier Foundation, said the organization "strongly recommends" against using RedNote for people whose privacy is a matter of personal safety. Quintin is conducting a study of the app's security risks.

Angela Zhang, a professor of law at the University of Southern California who specializes in the study of Chinese tech regulation, explained that RedNote is more vulnerable to the potential for Chinese government data collection than TikTok is.

"User data collected by RedNote will be stored in China, whereas TikTok's user data is stored outside of China. RedNote must comply with Chinese laws, including the Personal Information Protection Law, the Data Security Law, and cross-border data transfer rules," said Zhang, who explained that the enforcement of rules pertaining to government data access is often opaque. A series of data laws in China give the government the right to request data from China-based companies and cooperation with various intelligence operations.

"In addition to the collection of personal data, another key concern with TikTok is the potential manipulation of its algorithm to influence public opinion in the U.S.," Zhang said. "Unlike TikTok, whose algorithms are subject to close scrutiny by Oracle, RedNote's algorithms are subject to close scrutiny by the Chinese government. Additionally, RedNote will need to carefully navigate China's content moderation requirements, which could also influence the opinions of the TikTok refugees."

RedNote is subject to censorship efforts from the Chinese government, which TikTok says it is not.

"This is certainly not a platform which values free speech," Quintin said about RedNote. "It's a heavily censored application on which topics such as political speech, drugs and addiction, and sexuality are more tightly controlled even than similar social networks."

Quintin said the EFF gives the same advice to RedNote users that it would give to anyone using Meta's platforms, like Facebook and Instagram, as well as TikTok. He recommended allowing the app as few permissions as possible, such as the ability to see location, contacts and information about other accounts.

He also said people should be cautious knowing that RedNote has not seen "substantial public scrutiny" outside China, which has direct access to RedNote's data. TikTok has argued that China does not have direct access to U.S. data since it is stored outside the country. Adam Segal, a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and a recent Biden staffer, said "RedNote would be even worse" than TikTok, because it is a Chinese app based in China.

So far, Americans using RedNote have said they don't care if China has access to their data. Viral videos on TikTok in recent days have shown Americans jokingly saying they will miss their personal "Chinese spy," while others say they are purposefully giving RedNote access to their data in a show of protest against the wishes of the U.S. government.

"This also highlights the fact that people are thirsty for platforms that aren't controlled by the same few oligarchs," Quintin said. "People will happily jump to another platform even if it presents new, unknown risks."

He and Lindsay Gorman, the managing director of think tank the German Marshall Fund's technology program, both said that the U.S. opened up this risk by not passing federal, comprehensive data protection and privacy laws. Gorman also said that it's a rare moment for Americans to interact with Chinese citizens, one that may not last long.

"It's not a foregone conclusion that RedNote will suddenly enjoy TikTok's success and popularity," Gorman said. "Actually gaining the traction TikTok has is rare. And the size of the national security threat is really proportional to the size of the user base."

Quintin said the TikTok ban and the user migration to RedNote has parallels to age-verification restrictions in certain U.S. states that have led to the largest pornography website, Pornhub, being banned. In both cases, Quintin said that users jump to less-moderated platforms that tend to be even less safe.

"It is no surprise that users who cannot participate on the banned platform will have their privacy violated again since they won't be protected when they flock to other platforms," he said. "This outcome was foreseeable and could have been avoided by addressing privacy harms at the source and enacting strong consumer-protection laws, rather than a knee-jerk reaction banning the latest perceived threat."