Taiwan blocks Xiaohongshu amid fraud, security concerns

Taipei, Dec. 4 (CNA) Authorities on Thursday ordered a one-year block of Xiaohongshu (小紅書), a Chinese app with more than 3 million users in Taiwan, due to cybersecurity failures and widespread fraud activity on the platform.

Internet service providers have been instructed to use technical measures to prevent the public from accessing Xiaohongshu -- known in English as Little Red Book -- effective Thursday, according to Lai Cheng-yung (賴正庸), deputy secretary of the Executive Yuan's Anti-Fraud Command Center.

"Within a few hours, users opening the Xiaohongshu app will see a loading screen," as internet service providers began implementing the block, Lai said at 2 p.m. at a press conference at the Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB).

The move follows a Wednesday warning by the Ministry of Digital Affairs (MODA) about security risks posed by five Chinese apps -- Xiaohongshu, Douyin, Weibo, WeChat and Baidu Wangpan.

At Thursday's press conference, Chang Wen-yuan (張文源), head of the CIB's section combating fraud, said that Xiaohongshu, which has over 3 million Taiwanese users, was linked to 950 fraud cases in Taiwan last year, causing financial losses of more than NT$132.9 million (US$4.25 million).

From January to November this year, there have been 756 fraud cases, with total losses exceeding NT$114.77 million, Chang added.

The top five Xiaohongshu-related schemes were fake online shopping platforms, fraudulent installment payment cancellations, fake investments, romance scams and sexual solicitation scams, according to Chang.

Authorities previously reached out to Xiaohongshu's operator, Shanghai-based Xingyin Information Technology Co., Ltd., but received no response.

The Straits Exchange Foundation, a semi-official agency handling cross-strait issues, sent a letter on Oct. 14 to Xingyin Information Technology requesting it take corrective actions and reply within 20 days, Ma Shih-yuan (馬士元), head of the Executive Yuan's Anti-Fraud Command Center, said.

During the one-year period, authorities will monitor whether the company takes steps to comply with Taiwan's digital security rules, he said.

According to the MODA, Xiaohongshu failed all 15 cybersecurity inspection indicators, which assess risks such as the collection of sensitive data or biometric information, access to storage, unauthorized intrusions, data sharing with servers and information interception.

Deputy Minister Yeh Ning (葉寧) said on Wednesday that Chinese law allows authorities to compel companies to provide user data, creating potential security risks for Taiwanese users.