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TikTokers Post Farewells to Their ‘Chinese Spy’ as They Join Red Note

END OF AN ERA

“Nobody understands me like my spy,” one TikTok user wrote.

tiktokers say goodbye
TikTok

TikTok users in the U.S. are mocking the potential shutdown of the app later this month with videos saying goodbye to their “Chinese spy.”

“I just have a quick message for my personal Chinese spy, who’s been spying on me through this app for five years,” one user said, before switching to speak in Mandarin. “Thank you! Bye bye! I love you. You’re my bestie.”

“Nobody understands me like my spy,” a commenter wrote under the video.

The U.S. government has had security concerns about TikTok’s parent company, Chinese-owned ByteDance, since the app exploded in popularity in 2020. The Supreme Court has signaled that TikTok is likely to be shut down due to fears of Beijing’s control.

Despite ByteDance’s arguments that American data is stored in servers within the U.S., lawmakers worry that the company may be handing data over to the Chinese government to surveil Americans and spread misinformation.

Users poked fun at this fear by thanking their assigned “spies” who curated their algorithm and mined data.

“I just know it was you looking out for me and sending me those tarot readers telling me that he was no good for me,” a user posted with the caption “Dear Chinese Spy.”

Others pretended to reveal themselves as a spy.

“It is a great honor to spy on you the last few years,” another user posted. “Now, something personal. Laura from California, you shouldn’t drink so much Coca-Cola. It is bad for your health.”

Congress passed a law last year that compels ByteDance to sell the app to an American owner or shut down in the U.S. As the Supreme Court seems poised to uphold the law, shooting down TikTok’s free speech concerns, American TikTokers are already looking for a new app.

That app may be Xiaohongshu, which ironically translates to “Little Red Book” in English but is commonly called RedNote. The Chinese social platform has been the most downloaded free app in the U.S. since Monday.

Plenty of cross-cultural exchange blossomed with the Americans' introduction to the app, including Chinese users offering to teach Mandarin, and more Chinese spy jokes.

“You may not recognize me but I am your Chinese spy! So happy to meet u here that I won’t get fired,” a Chinese commenter posted under an American’s video on RedNote.

Some RedNote users came back to TikTok to share their findings.

“Running into my Chinese spy on RedNote,” a TikToker captioned a video of two men hugging.

RedNote could be in jeopardy of being banned in the U.S. under the same law that banned TikTok. But for now, American users are bringing over the same content and trends that have dominated TikTok for years--now subtitled in Mandarin.