TikTok owner ByteDance issues statement, accuses Facebook of plagiarism, smear campaign

TikTok’s parent company ByteDance, on Sunday, released an official statement commenting on the current situation while criticising its competitor Facebook.

The Beijing-based firm, in its statement posted on its news aggregator app Jinri Toutiao, had said that though it was committed to becoming a global company, it had been facing various difficulties.

These issues, apart from political scrutiny also include plagiarism and smear from competitor Facebook, it said according to a CNBC report.

“During this process, we have faced all kinds of complex and unimaginable difficulties, including the tense international political environment, collision and conflict of different cultures and plagiarism and smears from competitor Facebook,” ByteDance said in its statement as quoted by media reports.

TikTok chief executive Kevin Mayer last week had issued a similar statement stating that the company had faced more difficulties owing to its Chinese origins, according to a BBC News report.

He further criticised Facebook for its TikTok clone feature on Instagram.

“Facebook is even launching another copycat product, Reels (tied to Instagram) after their other copycat Lasso failed quickly,” he said as quoted by the report

TikTok had been banned in India last month and is currently facing a potential ban in the United States as well.

In India, Facebook had released its rival feature Instagram Reels shortly after the ban. Instagram Reels lets users create short 15-second videos with effects and animations.