United States | RedNote rising

A protest against America’s TikTok ban is mired in contradiction

Another Chinese app is not the alternative some young Americans think it is

Xiaohongshu And TikTok Logos
Photograph: VCG via Getty Images

AS A SHUTDOWN looms, TikTok in America has the air of the last day of school. The Brits are saying goodbye to the Americans. Australians are waiting in the wings to replace banished American influencers. And American users are bidding farewell to their fictional Chinese spies—a joke referencing the American government’s accusation that China is using the app (which is owned by ByteDance, a Chinese tech giant) to surveil American citizens.

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