Taiwan orders year-long block on China’s RedNote app, citing fraud and cybersecurity risks

Taiwan blocked RedNote over fraud and cybersecurity risks.

Taiwan’s Ministry of the Interior imposed a one-year ban on the Chinese lifestyle platform RedNote or Xiaohongshu (小紅書) in early December. The China-based social media platform is known internationally as RedNote. Officials said it posed risks to users, citing rampant online fraud and systemic cybersecurity deficiencies.

Fraud cases on RedNote

Taiwan’s Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) said Dec. 4 that 950 fraud cases involving RedNote were reported in Taiwan in 2024. The cases resulted in losses of more than NT$132.9 million, or about US$4.22 million. The bureau operates under the National Police Agency of the Ministry of the Interior.

The bureau also said that from January through November, there were 756 cases, with total losses exceeding NT$114.77 million, or about US$3.64 million. Officials said the numbers showed signs of a continued increase.

The bureau said the cases included, but were not limited to, fake online sales, payment cancellation scams, fraudulent investment schemes, romance scams, and impersonation.

Unanswered requests for remediation

Interior Minister Liu Shyh-fang (劉世芳) said at the Legislative Yuan, Taiwan's legislature, that RedNote does not comply with Taiwan’s Fraud Crime Hazard Prevention Act. She said the platform has no legal representative in Taiwan and has failed to respond despite repeated government outreach. As a result, Liu said, the government does not support RedNote, per CNA. 

Democratic Progressive Party lawmaker Puma Shen (沈伯洋) said at a press conference on Dec. 5 that the ban was a last-resort measure. He said the company had left the Taiwanese government with no other choice. 

Shen said even platforms such as TikTok have been willing to cooperate with authorities to combat fraud. In contrast, he said RedNote’s parent company has ignored government requests and failed to respond to concerns about fraud on the platform. Because RedNote has no offices or subsidiaries in Taiwan, Shen said, the government had no choice but to take measures such as restricting access.

Cybersecurity risks and concerns

Beyond the scale of the fraud, officials also cited RedNote’s failure to meet basic cybersecurity standards. The Ministry of Digital Affairs (MODA) said the app failed all 15 indicators in a government cybersecurity assessment.

On Wednesday, Dec. 3, MODA said at a conference that five apps were deemed high risk for cybersecurity concerns and advised users to exercise caution when using them. The apps included RedNote, TikTok, WeChat, and others.

MODA Deputy Minister Yeh Ning (葉寧) said that according to regulations in the People's Republic of China, the Chinese government could require China-based companies to provide user data to national security, public security, and intelligence agencies, which may, in turn, result in Taiwanese citizens' sensitive personal data being collected and used by the Chinese authorities.

Reactions among professionals in Taiwan

Chuang Po-chung (莊伯仲), a professor at the Department of Journalism at Taiwan's Chinese Culture University, told TCN on Dec. 15 that RedNote downloads in Taiwan surpassed those of Facebook in 2024. He said the app’s 3 million Taiwanese users represent about 1% of its global user base, but account for roughly 1.7% of total traffic, suggesting many users in Taiwan are heavy users.

Chuang said his research on RedNote usage among Taiwanese youths found a low positive correlation between using the app and holding positive views of China. He said the more youths use RedNote, the more favorable their attitudes tend to be toward mainland China’s exchanges, general understanding, overall impression, and development opportunities.

He added that, based on his research, RedNote has not changed the political mindset of Taiwanese youths. Regardless of their satisfaction with the app, more than 60% of users chose either “maintain the status quo until a decision is made” or “maintain the status quo forever.” Most RedNote users in his study continued to identify strongly as Taiwanese.

For background, relations between the governments in Taiwan and China are currently tense. Decades of democratization in Taiwan, and the resulting differences in political systems on the two sides of the Taiwan Strait, have fostered a strong sense of a distinct Taiwanese identity. According to a poll published in July 2025 by National Chengchi University, only 2.3% of Taiwan’s population identified themselves as “Chinese.”

Regarding the government’s ban on RedNote, Chuang said the key issue, whether due to cybersecurity or fraud, is equipping Taiwanese youths with critical thinking skills to evaluate information independently. He added that students should be allowed to continue using the app while maintaining an independent mindset, and that RedNote should be seen primarily as a lifestyle encyclopedia.

Samuel Straw, head of research at the Taipei-based NGO Taiwan Digital Diplomacy Association, told TCN that Taiwan's RedNote ban reminded him of how American gangster Al Capone was prosecuted for tax violations rather than his more notorious crimes. He was referring to the discussion over whether RedNote serves as a platform to spread pro-China propaganda and disinformation.

He said that while the Taiwanese government’s stated concern, RedNote’s lack of cooperation with anti-fraud authorities, is legitimate, the speed and scale of the ban suggest that something bigger may be at play. He added that the move should be seen as a defensive measure, noting that many democracies have imposed restrictions when hostile actors exploit information environments.

He further noted the value of examining the issue through the lens of cognitive warfare, saying Chinese social media platforms do not merely distribute entertainment content but also shape language, cultural references, and information norms.

On the impact of the ban, he said the short-term effects on Taiwanese content creators should not be understated, but signaling the seriousness of the issue is also important. He added that a noninterventionist hands-off approach could weaken societal resistance and that some short-term disruption may be inevitable if Taiwan hopes to build resilience against cognitive warfare.