Why people are downrating TikTok, calling for its ban
What's the story
TikTok, the popular video-sharing platform from China, has been hit by a series of controversies in India.
The app was growing progressively until a few weeks ago, but now, people are downrating the platform on app stores and calling for a ban on it.
So, what went wrong? How did a super popular app end up in this big a debacle?
Let's find out.
Ratings
Rating down from 4.5 to 2 stars
TikTok has long enjoyed an average rating of 4.5 stars, with over a billion downloads, on the Google Play Store.
However, in the last few days, people have flooded the app with 1-star ratings, bringing its average rating down to just 2 stars.
Even #BanTikTokIndia has started trending on Twitter, wherein calls are being made to get the platform removed or banned completely.
Issue #1
YouTube v/s TikTok went out of hand
You might be aware of the creator-led YouTube v/s TikTok battle.
Since weeks, stars from both the services have been roasting each other to prove the might of their own platform.
The battle, however, took a whole new turn when YouTuber CarryMinati roasted TikTok star Amir Siddiqui in a video that raked in millions of views before being removed for violating terms.
Action
Then, CarryMinati's angry fans started downrating TikTok
Following the removal of the video, CarryMinati's fans, who had no place to show their support for YouTube, started downrating TikTok's listing on the Play Store to express their dislike for the service.
The action against the platform was fanned by other YouTube v/s TikTok memes and videos doing rounds on both of these video platforms.
Issue #2
Case of videos glorifying acid attack, rape
After this, on May 18, the situation went further downhill when TikTok ran into the controversy of allowing videos glorifying acid attacks, rape, and misogyny.
One of the controversial clips came from Faizal Siddiqui (Amir's brother) whose video showed an acid attack, rather blatantly.
Siddiqui's account was suspended after the incident but the matter also pushed people to downrate TikTok.
Issue #3
Finally, the ditching of Chinese products
Finally, the Chinese image of TikTok has also not helped the case either.
The platform is owned by ByteDance - headquartered in Beijing, China - and a number of people, who have been rooting against the country's government due to the questionable handling of the whole coronavirus situation have started ditching the app, among other Chinese goods, to express their anger.