‘TikTok refugees’ flock to China's RedNote | Hacker News Reader

‘TikTok refugees’ flock to China's RedNote

reuters.com

26 pointsSharon_Q23 comments

This is about the dumbest thing you can do. TikTok at least maintains a facade of neutrality.

小红书 does not differentiate between the Chinese and western versions, meaning you're under the same rules as in China. Any comments against the CCP will get deleted, including jokes. It's not a "free speech" platform.

It's also just funny seeing people use this outside China.

The TikTok ban should be a good opportunity for people to quit their social media addiction.

>Any comments against the CCP will get deleted, including jokes. It's not a "free speech" platform.

I have bad news for you about "free speech" on any social media platform in the Western hemisphere...

exactly. this whole RedNote development frames the problem of United States social media data harvesting and surveillance. We've been institutionalized to believe that the Chinese are the most propagandized and censored people on the planet, meanwhile American "free speech" social media platforms regularly de-platform and de-monetized accounts regularly.

Comments critical of the US government do not typically get deleted from social media platforms based out of the US.

Deletion of comments critical of the US government, while not typical, do not comprise the only form of moderation on social media platforms based out of the US which many Americans consider to be censorship.

The point being that there are no "free speech" social media platforms, at least not on the open web, because true free speech on the internet would require allowing felonious content. The only difference between Chinese social media and American social media is where the arbitrary line between allowed and disallowed speech is drawn, and by whom (governments or corporations.)

I'm not arguing that this is a bad thing, personally I prefer private platforms having the option to choose what to moderate and what not, and for the government not to get involved more than necessary, but the premise that an American familiar with Facebook or Twitter or even HN (where you can be negged for just about anything) should be shocked by the lack of "free speech" on a Chinese app is absurd.

That's true, but softer things have happened, like the White House coercing platforms to delete content that questioned covid19 vaccine mandates. Until judges stopped it.

US govt is also trying to ban an entire social media platform. The law itself just mentions national security, but some lawmakers supported the ban explicitly because of the anti-Israel content on TikTok.

It’s clear that those who imposed the ban didn’t think of the consequences. What did they think was going to happen when users could no longer access TikTok? They’d stay home and study? They’d use their free time for sports? They’d join Facebook? Obviously, none of the above.

What’s dumb is to pass legislation without anticipating how people will react to the new rule.

TikTok wasn't free speech either, it was just different speech. I never cared about it until they tried to ban it.

(Just like New York Times isn't free speech, they choose what they want to publish, but the US govt isn't allowed to ban that newspaper just because it publishes anti-war sentiment or something.)

Possibly. Though I think relying on any China based services is a poor choice, since the US government will be just as likely to try and block/restrict them for similar reasons to TikTok.

Honestly surprised we haven't seen any European, South American, African, etc developed social apps take off given the privacy and moderation concerns. Or apps based in Asian countries other than China.

US alternatives don't feel too good either.

We need a neutral social media society that plays fair. Maybe a company HQed in Switzerland or something offering full privacy and full ad protection seems to be an opportunity.

https://pluralistic.net/2025/01/14/contesting-popularity/#ev...

https://freeourfeeds.com/

https://techcrunch.com/podcast/social-media-should-be-built-...

"Social media should be built on protocols, not platforms."

Or use decentralized ones like Bluesky

There's a reason that it isn't as popular as Twitter

besides the user base difference, any articles explain the reason?

Uh what? Most of the more active Twitter users/power users moved over, at least on one side of the political spectrum.

That and Twitter has been around way longer.

It's not decentralized. Mastodon is.

It is because China has 1.4 billion people that can't be dominated by Silicon Valley.

I am sure there are all kinds of social media apps in those other countries no one uses.

I also assume this story has little to do with reality and it is just a nice headline that will get clicks.

It is because China has 1.4 billion people that can't be dominated by Silicon Valley.

I am sure there are all kinds of social media apps in those other countries that no one uses.

Perhaps the kids will purposely prefer Chinese apps and sources as an act of rebellion.

That's... exactly what's happening though?

Related ongoing thread:

TikTok preparing for U.S. shut-off on Sunday - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42710339 - Jan 2025 (807 comments)

The heat will gradually fade away, because without real-name authentication, nothing can be done.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com