Taiwan blocks RedNote over fraud risks, as downloads surge through VPNs, despite ban

Taiwan has blocked the Chinese app RedNote (Xiaohongshu) due to concerns over fraud and data risks, but downloads have surged as users turn to VPNs to stay online.

Following Taiwan's ban on the Chinese social media app Rednote on December 4th, downloads have surged, with the app topping the list of downloads during the first week of the month.

This came as VPN usage also spiked, as users sought workarounds to maintain access to the app, known as Xiaohongshu (Little Red Book) in China, named after Mao Zedong’s famous propaganda book.

The app currently has around 3 million users in Taiwan, and has a heavy user reliance on online shopping, content discovery, social connections, and business promotion.

The island's strong vetting of the app comes amid a strong cybersecurity and fraud objective. Taiwan’s Ministry of Digital Affairs said that red flags were raised against Rednote in 15 categories of a thorough investigation.

According to the Ministry, the app is prone to collecting sensitive data from users, amalgamating and sending the data to developers, even when it’s not being used.

The kind of data being collected includes device IDs, precise location data, contact lists, and clipboard information.

In fact, there were over 1,700 cases of fraud in 2024, such as phony installment plan cancellations, fake investments, pig-butchering (romance scams), among others, resulting in losses of more than $7.92 million.

And, as The Taipei Times reported, there was a sense of disquiet among users, who are “predominantly young urban women,” who apparently cited other apps as being worse, namely Facebook, Threads, and Instagram (all owned by Meta).

The trouble is that, unlike more entertainment-centric apps like TikTok or WeChat, Rednote functions as a lifestyle hybrid – hence, its removal feels like a digital dispossession for the users.

It’s a tricky tightrope for the authorities to walk, as they often have to be explicit about takedowns being due to “censorship” or being “China-targeted” to make them less ambiguous.

Opposition parties in Taiwan, such as the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), have dubbed the ban as "digital martial law,” as tension continues to mount.

What comes next is rather uncertain, as Taiwan may tighten restrictions further, request apps like Rednote to act more transparently, or even seek local alternatives like Shopee Taiwan, Line, or Pinkoi.

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