Taiwan government has banned a popular, Chinese-owned social media app for one year after it failed to cooperate with authorities over fraud-related concerns.
Xiaohongshu, also known as RedNote, has become popular among young Taiwanese in recent years, attracting three million users in the self-ruled democracy of 23 million. But the Instagram-like platform has also fueled worries among officials that it could be exploited in pro-Beijing propaganda or disinformation campaigns, which Taiwan says it has been combating for years.
The Communist Party in China considers Taiwan a part of its territory even though it has never been under its control, and says it will one day annex the island by force if needed.
Taiwan’s Ministry of the Interior cited Xiaohongshu’s failure to cooperate with authorities as the reason for the ban, alleging that the platform had been involved in over 1,700 fraud cases that led to total losses of 247.7 million Taiwanese dollars ($7.9 million).
The Taiwan authorities announced a one-year ban on Xiaohongshu, the Chinese social media platform with over three million users in Taiwan. The DPP authorities cited fraud and security risks, but many believe this is an excuse and a catch-all offense.
In fact, Xiaohongshu is far… pic.twitter.com/WFuecwmOIr
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“Because they were not able, according to the law, to collect necessary data, there have been very serious limitations on investigative authorities,” making it a de facto legal vacuum, said the ministry in its statement.
CNN has contacted Xiaohongshu for comment. It isn’t known when the ban will begin. Users in Taiwan could still download the app on Friday afternoon.
The ban reflects an increasing concern among governments worldwide about cybersecurity vulnerabilities and disinformation campaigns linked to Chinese apps such as Xiaohongshu and TikTok, which have been downloaded by millions around the world.
Chinese law dictates that companies store data in the country and give authorities access to it. And Beijing scrupulously screens and censors content it deems unfavorable, a practice experts say can tightly manage public mood.
And Congress last year passed a law that forced the Chinese parent company of TikTok, ByteDance, to sell the platform or face being blocked; at one point, just weeks ago, the app even went dark for several hours. President Donald Trump later sought to revive the platform and made a deal with China — but no final deal was signed.
Taiwan’s Ministry of Digital Affairs this week identified five apps as having “serious cybersecurity risks,” including Xiaohongshu, TikTok, X-like Weibo and the all-things-China WeChat. These apps could also harvest sensitive information and share it with third parties without consent, it said. A separate cybersecurity review from the National Security Bureau concluded that Xiaohongshu did not pass any of its reviews.
But the ban has prompted a wave of resistance from users and opposition parties, who have called it an encroachment on freedom of speech.
“We used to mock people in China for having to rely on using VPNs just to see what’s going on,” wrote Lai Shyh-bao, a lawmaker from the main opposition party Kuomintang who advocates stronger ties with China, ultimately saying he agreed. ‘The clock is ticking for Taiwan’s internet freedom, it’ll be the day when people need VPNs.’
All major international platforms, including Facebook, Google, LINE and TikTok have assigned their legal representatives and followed local laws and regulations to fulfill obligations under the law, it said.
Taiwan authorities have asked Shanghai-based Xiaohongshu for details of a remedy plan, but the company has not responded, the ministry said.
“This is not something that happens only in Taiwan. You see it all over the world, and within China too this channel has not abided by regulations time after time… viewed from our perspective, it’s a malicious platform — [one that is] exempt from legal oversight with unclear financing,” Ma Shih-yuan, the deputy minister of interior said on Thursday at a presser.
