Taiwan completely blocks Little Red Book! The government reveals 3 major reasons: zero compliance with security standards, explosive growth of fraud, and refusal to cooperate with laws
The Criminal Police Department of Taiwan's Ministry of Home Affairs Police Department officially announced on December 4 that it will issue an order to "stop parsing and restrict access to the Internet" on the Chinese social platform "Xiaohongshu" (Xiaohongshu) APP and related websites from now on. The blocking period is tentatively scheduled for one year.
(Preliminary summary: 3 women from 9 companies in Taiwan were involved in the "Prince Group" fraud empire! They used cryptocurrency to launder money and set up shell companies in luxury homes)
(Background supplement: 985 academic qualifications are not as good as 10,000 followers, Xiaohongshu is becoming a new hunting ground for cryptocurrency exchanges)
The Criminal Police Department of the Taiwan Ministry of the Interior Police Department on December 4 It was officially announced today that it will issue an order to "stop parsing and restrict access to the Internet" on the Chinese social platform "Xiaohongshu" APP and related websites from now on. The blockade period is tentatively scheduled for one year.
Officially, this measure is an emergency measure taken in accordance with Article 42 "Fraud Crime Prevention Emergency" of the "Fraud Crime Harm Prevention Ordinance". The main purpose is to protect the personal data security of Taiwan users and effectively curb fraudulent criminal activities using the platform.
Three main reasons for the ban
The authorities pointed out that the number of users of Xiaohongshu in Taiwan has exceeded 3 million and has grown rapidly in recent years. However, it has also brought serious information security and criminal risks. The specific reasons include:
First of all, TaiwanтАЩs National Security Bureau conducted 15 inspections of Chinese-made APPs. According to the security inspection, all Xiaohongshu failed to meet the standards, excessively collecting sensitive information such as address books, payment information, location and even facial recognition, and the data transmission was not fully encrypted, posing a high risk of leakage.
Secondly, Xiaohongshu has become an important criminal channel for fraud groups. Data shows that from 2024 to November 2025, Taiwan accepted a total of 1,706 cases of fraud using Xiaohongshu, with financial losses as high as NT$240 million. Common techniques include fake investments, fake online shopping, fake dating, etc. What's more serious is that Xiaohongshu has no legal representative in Taiwan, and the police cannot access the information, forming a "law enforcement black hole."
Thirdly, on October 14 this year, the Ministry of Interior sent a formal letter to the parent company of Xiaohongshu through the Straits Exchange Foundation to propose an improvement plan. However, the other party has not responded to the request for more than 50 days and refused to cooperate with Taiwanese regulations, forcing the government to adopt the most stringent measures to cut off the Internet.
It is also worth mentioning that Xiaohongshu has been officially fined in mainland China for violations in the past, and Texas in the United States has directly listed it as banned software. In the mainland, some people even pointed out that the platform has the potential to unite. For example, Zhang Weiwei, a professor at Fudan University in Shanghai, once publicly stated that Xiaohongshu helps make mainland China "governing Taiwan easier than Hong Kong."
However, in this regard, the Mainland Affairs Council emphasized that this blockade is purely to "prevent fraud and protect personal information" and is not targeted at a specific country, but is administered in accordance with the law.
Further reading: Xiaohongshu was interviewed and punished by the Cyberspace Administration of China for "damaging the Internet ecology". Chinese villagers applauded: It should have been punished long ago!
Immediate impact on Taiwanese users
Starting from the afternoon of December 4, users using Taiwanese IP will not be able to connect to the Xiaohongshu APP or website normally. Most of the screens will stay at "Loading" or directly indicate that they cannot connect. Unless you use a VPN to circumvent the wall, you cannot browse, post or log in. Although accounts and historical content are still retained in the cloud, creators, brand merchants and cross-border e-commerce are almost completely suspended in Taiwan.
The Criminal Bureau emphasized that there will be no penalties for simply not deleting the APP, but it strongly recommends that people uninstall it immediately to avoid continued leakage of personal information.
