NEWSLETTER
TikTok isn't the only app owned by Chinese internet giant ByteDance that's coming back to life.
CapCut, a popular video editing app, became available again in the United States on Tuesday after going down over the weekend.
Users who opened the app or visited its website were greeted Tuesday with a pop-up message that began: “Thank you for your patience and support. CapCut is back in the US!
CapCut became unavailable in the country just before a federal law banning TikTok and other ByteDance apps went into effect on Sunday. TikTok returned to American users at noon on Sunday after President-elect Trump said he would issue an executive order to stop enforcement of the law.
His order, issued on Monday, assured some internet hosting companies that would have faced hefty fines for distributing or maintaining TikTok that they could now do so without penalties. TikTok said Lemon8, a sister app, started working again around the same time as TikTok.
Apple and Google are complying with the law, which explicitly requires app store operators to stop distributing and updating ByteDance apps. TikTok, CapCut and Lemon8 were not available in either company's app store as of Tuesday afternoon in New York. CapCut's return is significant, particularly after Meta-owned instagram announced a rival app called Edits over the weekend.
Federal law regarding ByteDance said its apps would be banned in the United States if they were not sold to a non-Chinese owner by January 19. The law was passed by Congress, signed by President Biden and unanimously confirmed by the Supreme Court on Friday, but Trump's order extended the deadline by 75 days. tech companies are taking different approaches to working with ByteDance apps, as it is unclear whether the president has the power to stop the enforcement of a federal law.
Mae Karwowski, founder of Obviously, an influencer marketing company, said creators were breathing a sigh of relief to have CapCut back.
“People find it to be the easiest and most direct way to edit videos on the go,” he said. “I've heard a lot of people say, 'Oh man, this is going to hurt on its own,' even without being able to post on TikTok.”
He added that CapCut's demise was shocking to some creators, who didn't realize they would also be affected by the new law. “A lot of people forgot that they go hand in hand and that they belong to the same people,” Karwowski said.
TikTok did not respond to a request for comment on when CapCut returned or why it had remained offline longer than TikTok and Lemon8.
