These Chinese apps have become so popular in the US that TikTok’s ban could trap them.

Bytedance’s photo-sharing app Lemon8 and Rednote, a Shanghai-based content-sharing platform, have been seen migrating to alternative platforms amid concerns that “TikTok refugees” may be banned in the US.

Now a law that could see TikTok shut down in the US threatens to trap these Chinese social media apps, and others like TikTok-alternatives are gaining interest, legal experts say.

From Wednesday, RedNote – known as Xiaohongshu in China – Lemon8 was the top free app on the US iOS store, taking second place.

The US Supreme Court is about to rule on its constitutionality. Protecting Americans from applications controlled by foreign enemiesOr PAFACA, will block the TikTok app in the US if its Beijing-based owner, ByteDance, doesn’t move it by January 19.

While the law specifically names TikTok and ByteDance, experts say its scope is broad and opens the door for Washington to target more Chinese apps.

“Chinese social media apps, including Lemon8 and RedNote, could also be banned under this law,” Tobin Marcus, head of U.S. policy and politics at New York-based Wolf Research, told CNBC.

If the Tik Tok ban goes through, it’s unlikely the law will allow potential successors to come from China without some form of regulation, experts told CNBC.

As PAFACA is a subsidiary of ByteDance, it automatically applies to Lemon 8, while RedNote may fall under the rule if its US monthly average user base continues to grow, Marcus said.

The Act prohibits the distribution, maintenance or provision of Internet hosting services to any “application controlled by a foreign adversary.”

These applications are those linked to ByteDance or Tik Tok or linked to a social media company controlled by a “foreign adversary” and may pose a serious threat to national security.

The bill’s wording is “very broad” and gives President-elect Donald Trump room to decide which entities pose the greatest threat to national security, said Carl Tobias, the Williams Chair of Law at the University of Richmond.

Xiaomeng Lu, director of geo-tech political risk consultancy Eurasia Group, told CNBC that the law could go ahead despite delays in implementation and enforcement. Regardless, she expects Chinese apps in the US to continue to be the subject of regulatory action going forward.

“The TikTok case has set a new precedent for targeting and blocking Chinese apps,” Lu said.

She added that Chinese apps that could be affected by increased surveillance this year include popular Chinese e-commerce platforms Temu and Xin. US authorities have sued the apps. Creating data risksCharges The same as those who fought on Tik Tok.

TikTok’s fate rests in the Supreme Court after the platform and its parent company filed a lawsuit against the US government claiming that invoking PAFACA violates constitutional protections for free speech.

Tik Tok’s argument is that the law is unconstitutional as applied to them, not unconstitutional, said Cornell law professor Gautam Hans. “So whether TikTok wins or not, the law can still apply to other companies,” he said.

Beyond traditional social media apps in the Tik Tok mold, the law’s design vision is broad enough to apply to a variety of Chinese apps deemed a threat to national security, Hans said.

Trump on the other hand The US Supreme Court is concerned To stop enforcing PAFACA so he can pursue a “political solution” after taking office. Democratic lawmakers have also worried Congress and President Joe Biden Extend the January 19 deadline.