American people: 1, American government: 0.
January 19 is getting closer and closer. For some, that date might not mean much, but for many, it’s when they might lose their favorite app: TikTok. As we’ve been following, the US government gave TikTok’s parent company ByteDance until January 19 to sell the platform under the threat of a US ban. If you haven’t been keeping up with the ordeal, US lawmakers claim their ultimatum comes amid security concerns, as ByteDance is owned by China. So as that ban date gets closer and closer, American users have been squirming… And are now turning to a TikTok app dupe — which is ALSO based out of China!
If you’ve heard of the app RedNote (Xiaohongshu) over the past couple days, it’s because it’s suddenly SKYROCKETED in downloads as it’s reminiscent of TikTok. In fact, it’s currently the number one free downloaded app on the Apple App Store! The government was so focused on trying to force the sale of TikTok they didn’t even consider another Chinese app could swoop in to fill the market! How about that for irony!
On X (Twitter), users have been having a heyday with the situation:
Others just hope Elon Musk doesn’t step in to buy TikTok like he did Twitter:
What are your thoughts, Perezcious readers??
[Image via Neon/YouTube]