The first amateur sex videohashtag “Xiaohongshu Account Ban” topped Weibo’s trending list on December 20.? In response to the issue, Xiaohongshu’s customer service stated that account penalties are determined solely by the severity of violations. Notifications about account status will be sent via in-app messages. For accounts with specified penalty durations, restrictions will be lifted automatically after the stated period, provided no further violations occur. However, accounts without a specified penalty period have been permanently banned. Xiaohongshu announced on November 18 that it would undertake a two-month campaign to crack down on gray-market accounts. The effort will focus on removing fake review bots and networks of fraudulent accounts.

Xiaohongshu has intensified its efforts in recent years to regulate marketing and traffic-redirecting behaviors on the platform. In January 2022, the company launched a crackdown on “false marketing” practices, resulting in the ban of 39 consumer brands, medical aesthetics institutions, and related product brands suspected of violating marketing rules. [Jiemian. In Chinese]