In case you didn't notice,?TikTok is not having a good time in 2020. After being one of the most downloaded apps in India and around the world, privacy concerns have caused the Indian government to ban the TikTok app, along with 58 other Chinese apps prohibited from the Indian app stores. And now the ground is shrinking for the app in the US too.
While Indian TikTokers were missing the app, Facebook¡¯s Instagram swooped in to save the day with its products Instagram Reels -- essentially a TikTok clone but with the goodness and reliability of Instagram, and it took no time for TikTokers as well as non-TikTokers to explore Reels and fall in love with it.?
And now Reels is gearing up for launch in the US. TikTok¡¯s chief executive isn¡¯t happy about this and is accusing Facebook of launching ¡®copycat products¡¯ while also attacking it under the garb of patriotism.?
Kevin Mayer expressed this in a blog post while addressing the US audience, stating that it was committed more than ever to the United States as well as the users in America, while the nation is on the verge of shifting from the app due to its Chinese origin.?
This TikTok backlash comes at a time when Mark Zuckerberg, along with other CEOs of Apple, Google and Amazon are preparing to be questioned by the US Congress on antitrust issues.
Mayer said "At TikTok we welcome competition. We think fair competition makes all of us better. To those who wish to launch competitive products, we say bring it on. Facebook is even launching another copycat product, Reels (tied to Instagram), after their other copycat Lasso failed quickly.¡±
He added that instead of luring users on the grounds of patriotism, they must focus on creating better products stating, "But let's focus our energies on fair and open competition in service of our consumers, rather than maligning attacks by our competitor ¨C namely Facebook ¨C disguised as patriotism and designed to put an end to our very presence in the US."