Summary

Many Americans are migrating to RedNote, a Chinese-owned app based in China, raising significant privacy and security concerns.

Experts warn that RedNote, based in China, is subject to Chinese laws, including the Personal Information Protection Law and Data Security Law, which grant the government rights to request data and cooperation with intelligence operations.

Enforcement of these laws is often opaque. Analysts highlight risks of data collection, algorithm manipulation, and censorship on RedNote.

Critics argue the U.S. lacks comprehensive privacy laws, driving users to platforms like RedNote that may pose even greater risks than TikTok.

  • twinnie@feddit.uk
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    20 hours ago

    I don’t understand, why are exactly are people moving to RedNote? I’ve never heard of it.

    • spujb@lemmy.cafe
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      18 hours ago

      people would rather have their personal data stolen by the chinese government than the US who poses much more of an immediate threat.

      detractors describe this as astroturfing but that’s BS. congress brought this on themselves by making such a clearly self-serving gesture.

      • CeeBee_Eh@lemmy.world
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        10 hours ago

        people would rather have their personal data stolen by the chinese government than the US who poses much more of an immediate threat.

        Oh sure. Chinese living in the US telecom network for years isn’t a threat. China compromising critical US infrastructure isn’t an immediate threat.

        And the issue is less about stealing your data (although that is an issue), it’s about being shown pro-CCP and anti-American content by a Chinese app. It’s about direct foreign influence by an adversarial county (the government, not the people, apparently that distinction needs to be pointed out to people here).

    • themeatbridge@lemmy.world
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      20 hours ago

      Some of it is ignorance. People see TikTok is banned, google “TikTok alternative,” and click on the first sponsored result. They would need to know (and care) why TikTok was targeted in order to find something better. People hear that RedNote is the next app, so people go to RedNote, and therefore it becomes the next app.

      Some of it is astroturf. Do the people telling you that RedNote has become popular have any interest in making RedNote popular? Is RedNote really exploding, or is it just interesting to talk about? Like is it going to snow heavily tomorrow, or is it good for weather services to get eyes on their content? Hype has its own inertia.

      Some of it is real. RedNote was already very popular in China, and there is already a lot of content. People comparing it to Loops, for example, might find Loops sadly lacking in content and influencers. Influencers go where their audience is, and the audience follows the influencers. Nobody wants to be the last one on the new platform, and it’s fairly simple to make the switch, so a whole lot of people jumped into RedNote at once because they don’t care about CCP data mining or political issues.

      • dx1@lemmy.world
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        9 hours ago

        Who, the people selling the Mandarin translator pens? Are they behind the Tiktok ban too?

    • RagingRobot@lemmy.world
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      20 hours ago

      I bet it was because they saw propaganda on tik Tok telling them to. But I’m sure they all feel like it’s their own choice and that they are sending a message to the American government.