Xiaohongshu must improve anti-fraud, cybersecurity measures: Official

Taipei, Dec. 11 (CNA) Deputy Interior Minister Ma Shih-yuan (馬士元) on Thursday said Chinese social media app Xiaohongshu must submit improvement plans to strengthen anti-fraud measures and cybersecurity before restrictions on the app are lifted.

The government on Dec. 4 ordered Taiwan's internet service providers to "throttle" Xiaohongshu, known in English as Rednote, for one year due to cybersecurity and fraud concerns. Although still downloadable, it takes a long time to load its functions, making it effectively unusable.

In an online program interview, Ma said Xiaohongshu failed to comply with government regulations after repeated demands to help combat fraud, and with user numbers in Taiwan rising sharply, it has since become a hotbed for scammers.

He added that other major platforms, including Google, Meta, LINE, and TikTok, have complied and already made progress, unlike Xiaohongshu, though he did not elaborate.

Asked whether such extreme action against the app was necessary, Ma said enforcing the law is the responsibility of government agencies, citing Article 42 of the Fraud Crime Hazard Prevention Act, which allows authorities to order internet service providers to block or restrict access to websites in emergencies to prevent the public from continuing to be exposed to fraudulent sites.

He added that, unlike China's complete bans on some social media platforms, Taiwan has taken a milder approach by imposing obstacles that make the app less seamless to use.

Citing Meta as an example, the deputy interior minister said the company has local representatives in Taiwan and continues to remove illegal ads to protect potential fraud victims. "The government currently has no way to protect any Taiwanese users of Xiaohongshu, which is why we are invoking Article 42," he explained.

Xiaohongshu does not have a representative in Taiwan, and even if it sought to establish one, it would need approval from the Mainland Affairs Council, the Ministry of Digital Affairs, or the Ministry of Economic Affairs, creating legal hurdles.

The government requires a communication channel, but such dialogue would have to comply with Taiwanese law -- something Xiaohongshu is unwilling to do, creating an impasse, he added.

Asked whether establishing a local representative in Taiwan could resolve the issue, Ma said the Chinese app must first explain how its content moderation and other mechanisms operate and submit plans to strengthen anti-fraud and cybersecurity measures, but so far it has not responded.