In America: The Unlikely Social Media Migration & What It Means For TikTok In The U.S.
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Amidst the brief chaos surrounding TikTok’s temporary 12-hour ban in the United States, many American users flocked to Xiaohongshu, also known as Red Note. Based in Shanghai, the Chinese platform welcomed the short-lived surge of U.S. users. Although the ban was quickly lifted and may never happen again, it highlighted the ongoing tensions surrounding the social media giant, owned by ByteDance and headquartered in Singapore.
What did TikTok do differently since SCOTUS’ decision?
Source - ABC News/ tiktok
This move, though not entirely unexpected given that President Trump had promised to "save" TikTok in his pre-election policy platform, still surprised some Republicans. Senators Tim Cotton of Arkansas, who was previously known for pressing TikTok’s Singaporean CEO, Shu Ji Chiu, to admit “ties and associations” to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP,) and Pete Ricketts of Nebraska expressed their unease over the new President’s throwing of a lifebuoy to the drowning company. Meanwhile, TikTok displayed a pop-up message thanking President Trump by name for his delay of TikTok’s ban.
What prompted this gesture of kindness? Could it possibly have been prompted by the love young Republicans have for the platform? Or the fact that Shu Ji Chiu’s TikTok is the main sponsor of Trump’s inauguration party at a bougie DC hotel? Billionaire donors were a common site at the 45th and 47th President’s inauguration, re-igniting talks of an oligarch class who have bought their way into the political discourse of the wealthiest nation of the world. Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, a prominent critic of large donations expressed his distrust in the presence of all the world’s richest men (yes, they were all men,) behind the administration meant “for the people.”
Meta, Free Speech, and Red Note
Meanwhile, following Meta’s shift to the political right in an attempt to cozy up to the new White House, Meta confirmed that some accounts couldn’t unfollow the official accounts of the President and Vice President of the US across their platforms, Facebook and Instagram. This comes at a tumultuous time for Zuckerberg’s Meta, as one of his company’s lawyers quit citing Zuckerberg’s descent into “Neo-Nazi madness” and “toxic Masculinity.” All happening whilst Tesla’s CEO Elon Musk has come under a barrage of criticism for allegedly doing a Nazi salute during his speech at Trump’s inauguration.
While Americans migrate to Red Note, American critics of the platform claim it curbs free speech, following the repeated urgings of Chinese users to avoid “sensitive” topics like the Tiananmen Square Massacre of 1989, or criticisms of the CCP. Western users almost took this as a challenge and immediately began posting exclusively on such topics – including the age-old debate of communism vs capitalism, varying social freedoms, and other topics deemed “sensitive,” by the Chinese platform.
But aren’t they spying on you?
Los Angeles-based Taiwanese American, Christian Lu told NBC News, “There is a very naive base of users in America, who don’t understand any of this. They’re just upset that TikTok is going to be banned”. It took her account less than half a day to be banned following tactful mentions of Tibet and Taiwan in her hashtags and captions.
American users helping chinese users with english homework. Source - YouTube.com/Atrioc
Meanwhile, not all is wicked on the newfound, or newly discovered Chinese app. In a rare occurrence, owing to content restrictions, netizens from two of the biggest economies in the world interacted with each other for the first time. Some asked for help with their English homework, prompting Americans to question their hold on the language they speak daily. Meanwhile, in an on-the-nose move, some American users posted their mathematics homework to try and enlist some virtual assistance.
A chinese math teacher helps a student across the globe. Source - youtube.com/atrioc
One Pasadena user, Diego Obando, told NBC’s reporters, that the platform’s ethos is “nicer,” than that of TikTok. Obando, 19, says that security isn’t a priority as “there’s always someone spying on you on any app you’re on.” This is not entirely unfounded; Meta is awaiting the Supreme Court’s decision on a potential multi-billion-dollar lawsuit where users’ data was used against them to breed mistrust and insecurity during an election cycle. Meanwhile, debate is still rife about Edward Snowden, who exposed the NSA’s predatory data collection practices in the name of national security.
Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs, Guo Jiakun told Reuters, “As a matter of principle, China has always supported and encouraged strengthening people-to-people exchanges and the promotion of people-to-people bonds with all countries,”. This is echoed by the state-run media, People’s Daily Newspaper, “Moving to Red Note can be seen as an act of defiance against the U.S. government’s narrative that Chinese apps are security threats. By embracing Red Note, users challenge the assumption that Chinese platforms are inherently dangerous.”
What happens when a platform goes dark?
On the other side of TikTok, content creators across the US posted videos saying goodbye to their fan bases and fellow creators. With some making the unfortunate choice of exposing some closely held secrets. This might be awkward for creators who have admitted to an array of things – from vaping on camera to never using products they shill to their fans. Given the unexpected resurgence of the platform, these creators have had to either delete their confessions or rescind them.
mobile phones with tiktok being sold at exorbitant prices
TikTok’s rapid banning and unbanning caused more than just content creators to make bad choices. Users of the app began selling iPhones and other used mobile phones that still had the TikTok app installed and working for sums of money upwards of $5000. While this short-lived business practice may have temporarily failed, the temperamental nature of the new Trump administration may prove to be an ally for these aspiring businesspeople.