Taipei: Taiwan’s government has announced a one-year suspension of the Chinese social media platform RedNote, widely known in mainland China as Xiaohongshu, citing a sharp rise in online fraud cases and persistent cybersecurity threats. The decision, effective immediately, has sparked a heated debate over the balance between citizen protection and digital freedom in the island nation.

The interior ministry reported that RedNote had been linked to more than 1,700 fraud cases since 2024, resulting in estimated financial losses of NT$247.68 million (approximately US$7.9 million). Officials stressed that the platform repeatedly failed to meet 15 cybersecurity and data-compliance standards mandated by Taiwanese authorities, leaving users vulnerable to scams and exposing personal data to pote

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