The Interior Ministry will issue an order to halt DNS resolution and restrict access to the Chinese social networking and e-commerce platform Xiaohongshu app, otherwise known as RedNote, for a period of one year.

The move follows a surge in online shopping scams linked to the app. According to the National Police Agency’s Criminal Investigation Bureau, Xiaohongshu was connected to 950 fraud cases in Taiwan last year, with losses exceeding NT$132.9 million (US$4.26 million). 

Officials said the suspension order was issued under Article 42 of the Fraud Crime Hazard Prevention Act, which allows emergency measures when platforms pose an immediate threat to public safety. The Cabinet’s anti-fraud command center said the shutdown will affect several hundred associated IP addresses and will be phased in over a number of hours. Users attempting to open the app are expected to encounter endless loading or failed connections.

TWNIC, Taiwan’s domain-name registry, said it has already activated DNS Response Policy Zone (RPZ) mechanisms to carry out the order. Under the RPZ system, Internet service providers voluntarily enforce legal directives to block malicious or harmful domain names. 

The suspension comes amid growing scrutiny of Chinese apps in Taiwan over data security, fraud risks, and potential influence operations.