On January 19, 2025, a ban on the use of the social network TikTok officially came into force in the United States of America. This was the result of legislative initiatives aimed at forcing the Chinese company ByteDance to sell the US segment of TikTok due to national security concerns. The U.S. Supreme Court unanimously upheld the decision, citing threats associated with the Chinese government’s possible access to U.S. users’ data.
In this regard, Apple and Google removed TikTok from their app stores, and Oracle began the process of disconnecting the servers that served the data of American users. Users who tried to open the app received messages about its unavailability.
Why is TikTok a threat to Ukraine?
The experience of other countries has proven that TikTok can be used as a tool for spreading disinformation and manipulating public opinion. In particular, during the 2024 presidential elections in Romania, the platform became the main channel for promoting the pro-Russian candidate Kelin Georgescu. His campaign, built on manipulative content, contributed to his unexpected victory in the first round of elections. The results were later annulled due to irregularities and external interference.
The research and analysis group wrote in detail about the mechanism of using TikTok to actually hack the Romanian electoral system in these materials:
- How TikTok became a weapon: from Romanian electoral shock to Ukrainian realities
- TikTok is Russia’s most powerful information weapon
In Ukraine, we have also documented the continued use of TikTok to spread disinformation and undermine mobilization efforts. Research has identified networks of accounts that spread false information aimed at creating panic and distrust among the population. The main narratives include exaggerated losses of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and rumors about the unfairness of mobilization. Based on our research, RBC-Ukraine published its own material on this topic.
Given these threats, there have been calls in Ukraine to restrict or ban TikTok. In June 2024, a petition was published on the website of the Cabinet of Ministers with a request to introduce a bill to block the social network TikTok in Ukraine and ban the use of the application on the phones of government officials and military personnel.
Given the international experience and domestic challenges, Ukraine should closely monitor the situation around TikTok and take measures to protect the information space from potential threats.
The most likely scenario is that after his inauguration, Donald Trump will lift the ban. “We are fortunate that President Trump has indicated that he will work with us on a solution to restore TikTok as soon as he takes office,”the company wrote in a pop-up message to users who opened the app starting late Saturday night. “Please stay tuned for updates!”
President-elect Trump says he will “most likely” delay the TikTok ban for 90 days after he takes office on Monday, adding that he has not made a final decision in a phone interview with NBC News on Saturday.
TikTok is not the only one
Amid the anticipation of TikTok’s ban, two campaigns were running in parallel in the United States: hysteria about the negative consequences of the ban and the simultaneous promotion of its replacement, RedNote. In the face of the expected ban on TikTok in the United States, the Chinese social platform RedNote (Xiaohongshu) is showing rapid growth in the American market. The app, which took the first position in the US App Store, is showing a significant increase in activity: the number of downloads tripled in a week, attracting 700,000 new users within 48 hours.
The TikTok ban followed by the migration to RedNote is the gift that keeps on giving for China. Meanwhile, young Americans are ready to riot over the lies they’ve been told in the US. pic.twitter.com/7SyEYg3yDn
– Polly Tickal (@BubblesToBurst) January 18, 2025
The platform’s structure includes simultaneous display of various content formats, including video, photos, and textual materials. The algorithmic system generates a feed based on user interests, which differs from the traditional subscription model. E-commerce integration and live streaming functionality form the technical basis of the platform.
RedNote’s financial ecosystem is backed by large technology companies. Alibaba, Tencent, and Singapore’s Temasek fund are among the investors, along with venture capital funds GSR Ventures, DST Global, and GGV Capital. The platform’s founders, Charlwin Mao and Miranda Cui, have a net worth of $2.5 billion and $1.6 billion, respectively.
“No wonder China has so many smart students!! No wonder they are all so much more educated and seen as geniuses! Because knowledge is so much more accessible to everyone there!! This seriously blew my mind.”#rednote #china #chinatiktok #redbook pic.twitter.com/N3OWioNCDI
– Johannes Maria (@luo_yuehan) January 18, 2025
Usage statistics show that in China, the main audience is formed by young women interested in fashion, beauty, travel, and cooking content. The platform’s monthly active audience exceeds 300 million users. The hashtag #TikTokRefugee has gained 250 million views, reflecting the scale of user migration.
Unlike other Chinese tech companies, RedNote uses a single version of the app for all regions. This creates the need to develop a system for moderating English-language content and implementing translation tools. The company is also working to adapt to different regulatory requirements in international markets.
Market indicators show an increase in the value of shares of companies related to the RedNote ecosystem. In particular, this applies to Hangzhou Onechance Tech Corp and Inly Media Co., Ltd. Analysts see the platform as a potential candidate for an IPO, which could affect the further development of the Chinese tech sector.
Why is TikTok dangerous?
And for the same reasons, any app with similar functionality that becomes popular and is owned by companies from countries that are hostile or unfriendly to Ukraine will pose a threat.
In the Romanian elections, TikTok was used in symbiosis with Telegram (read our story “Who are you, Mr. / Friend of Remi Vaughn?”in which we showed that even the spokesperson for this messenger is fake). This means using TikTok algorithms to create and promote content, and Telegram to coordinate malicious activities, in the case of Romania, setting tasks for commenting and using hashtags.
In Ukraine, TikTok is mostly used in combination with Viber and YouTube. It works as follows:
- For example, the enemy wants to gather a community to organize resistance to mobilization. The promotion of malicious narratives is easiest through the virality of videos. Where allegedly independent commentators post hundreds and thousands of comments, share, etc. immediately after publication. This signals the network’s algorithms to raise the video in recommendations.
- After gaining popularity, the video either directly directs the viewer to take a certain action or recommends subscribing to a community whose links are embedded in the profile header.
For example, this is how the Maidan 24.03 event was organized in 2023, when a video of a girl who claimed to be (and probably was) the wife of a prisoner of war went viral. We wrote about this in the article “Analysis and results of Russia’s information special operation “March 24”.
The situation was a little different with the fake about the distribution of summonses at the funeral of a military man. Here, “human rights activists” actively commented on the video, creating a fake reason to whip up hysteria. Read more about this in our article “The enemy has launched another fake – that TCC employees are handing out summonses at funerals”. It is worth noting here that TikTok works as a system that learns from the preferences of its viewers and shows such outright nonsense only to those who are ready to believe it.
And this is what makes TikTok as dangerous as possible, because very sophisticated methods need to be used to track such narratives, as these videos are only seen by those who have been consuming content for several months for those who lack critical thinking, are committed to conspiracy theories, or whatever.
Our team has a strong partnership with Osavul, a malicious narrative tracking platform that allows us to do this, and we are currently preparing a large piece that will show in detail all the threats from TikTok in addition to everything we have done before. In the meantime, we recommend that you read more of our materials:
- Russian hybrid espionage and influence campaign (material by Google Threat Intelligence Group, supplemented by InfoLight.UA)
- The pro-Russian Romanian party AUR is preparing anti-Ukrainian information provocations and how it is related to the events in Bukovyna
- and material from colleagues who used our work “Ostap Stakhiv, a failed politician and anti-vaccinationist, has created an anti-mobilization network of thousands. Its members block the work of the TCC and government agencies. A detailed analysis of Babel (SBU note)”.
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