People who are ditching TikTok and switching to an alternative app have been warned about serious security dangers. Social media users in the US are switching to a Chinese app called RedNote as TikTok is about to be banned.
RedNote, whoch looks like a combination of TikTojk and Instagram, already has 300million users and was the most downloaded app on Apple’s US App Store on Monday.
Courts in the US have ordered TikTok to sell its US operations or be banned, with a dealine of this Friday set. The ban would stop app stores from providing TikTok.
Cybersecurity expert at NordVPN, Adrianus Warmenhoven, said: “RedNote might seem like a quick fix for TikTok fans ahead of its potential ban in the US, but it comes with serious cybersecurity and privacy risks.
“Like TikTok, RedNote is subject to Chinese data laws, which may grant government authorities access to user data without the privacy protections expected in the US. The platform collects extensive personal data, including location, browsing activity, and device-specific information like IP addresses. It can also share this data with third-party service providers or government authorities, raising concerns about user privacy.
“A major red flag is the app’s lack of transparency — its terms and conditions are mainly in Mandarin, leaving non-Chinese-speaking users unclear about what data is collected and how it’s used. This makes it difficult for users to make informed decisions about their privacy.
“Beyond privacy, there are concerns about content censorship. RedNote’s content moderation policies may align with Chinese government standards, potentially stifling free speech and exposing users to biased information.
“To protect your privacy while using RedNote, limit the personal information you share, and review the app’s privacy settings to restrict data collection. To limit your IP address tracking, consider using a VPN.
“Given these risks, social media users should think twice before switching to RedNote. The same privacy, transparency, and national security concerns that led to the TikTok debate are likely to apply here.”
The US Supreme Court seems likely to uphold a law that would ban TikTok in the United States beginning on January 19 unless the popular social media platform is sold by its China-based parent company. Hearing arguments in a momentous clash of free speech and national security concerns last week, the justices seemed persuaded by arguments that the national security threat posed by the company’s connections to China override concerns about restricting the speech either ofTikTokor its 170 million users in the US.
Early in arguments that lasted more than two and a half hours, Chief Justice John Roberts identified as the “main concern” in the case TikTok’s ownership by China-based ByteDance and the parent company’s requirement to co-operate with the Chinese government’s intelligence operations.
If left in place, the law passed by bipartisan majorities in Congress and signed by President Joe Biden in April will require TikTok to “go dark” on January 19, lawyer Noel Francisco told the justices on behalf of TikTok.
President-elect Donald Trump, who has 14.7 million followers on TikTok, has called for the deadline to be pushed back to give him time to negotiate a “political resolution”.
ByteDance has said it will not sell the short-form video platform. But some investors have been eyeing it, including Mr Trump’s former treasury secretary Steven Mnuchin and billionaire businessman Frank McCourt.
On Thursday, Mr McCourt’s Project Liberty initiative said it, along with its unnamed partners, presented a proposal to ByteDance to acquire TikTok’s US assets. The consortium, which includes Shark Tank host Kevin O’Leary, did not disclose the financial terms of the offer.
If TikTok is not sold to an approved buyer, the federal law would prohibit app stores, such as those operated by Apple and Google, from offering the app. It would also bar internet hosting services from hosting TikTok.
TikTok users who already have the app on their phones will continue to have access to it. But new users will not be able to download the app, and existing ones will no longer be able to receive updates. That will eventually render the app unworkable.
US officials argue that the vast amounts of user data that TikTok collects, including sensitive information on viewing habits, could fall into the hands of the Chinese government through coercion.They also are concerned that the proprietary algorithm that fuels what users see on the app is vulnerable to manipulation by Chinese authorities, who could pressure ByteDance to shape content on the platform in a way that is difficult to detect.
TikTok, which sued the government last year over the law, has long denied it could be used as a tool of Beijing. The company negotiated with the Biden administration between 2021 and 2022 to resolve the concerns around US data privacy and potential algorithmic manipulation.
In court documents, it has accused the administration of essentially walking away from those negotiations after it presented a draft agreement in August 2022. But the Justice Department has said the Biden administration concluded the proposal was “insufficient” because it would maintain TikTok’s ties to China.
The agency said the Executive Branch also could “neither trust ByteDance to comply nor detect noncompliance before it was too late”.
A three-judge panel made up of two Republican appointees and a Democratic appointee unanimously upheld the law in December, prompting TikTok’s quick appeal to the Supreme Court.