FaceApp, the popular photo-filter application, is removing its "ethnicity filters" after several outraged users claimed that the app was racist.
The app allows users to place a filter over their selfies to alter their appearances. A new update added recently allowed users to change their race with ethnic filters. In the update, there were options for "Black," "White," "Asian," and "Indian" filters.
Since the update, there has been a firestorm of criticism, as critics have condemned the app as "racist" and "offensive." Users have compared the app's new feature to racial stereotypes of black and yellow face makeup.
At first, the company stood by its new update, saying that the filters were "designed to be equal in all aspects" and "don't have any positive or negative connotations associated with them."
"They are even represented by the same icon. In addition to that, the list of those filters is shuffled for every photo, so each user sees them in a different order," said CEO Yaroslav Goncharov.
Later that day, though, Goncharov changed his tune, saying, "The new controversial filters will be removed in the next few hours." The company then pulled the new filters from the app.
The company made waves after it entered the market with its state-of the-art augmented reality technology. But because of the current climate of social sensitivity and the rise in P.C. culture, it's no surprise that the app's otherwise harmless use of ethnicity filters would get hit with backlash..
Thank you for supporting MRCTV! As a tax-deductible, charitable organization, we rely on the support of our readers to keep us running! Keep MRCTV going with your gift here!