TikTok isn't the only app owned by Chinese internet giant ByteDance showing signs of a comeback.
Popular video editing app CapCut was back online in the US on Tuesday after being out of service over the weekend.
Users who opened the app or visited the website were greeted with a pop-up message Tuesday that read: CapCut is back in the US!”
CapCut is no longer available in the country just before a federal law banning TikTok and other ByteDance apps takes effect on Sunday. TikTok returned to U.S. users at noon Sunday after President-elect Trump announced he would issue an executive order to slow law enforcement.
His order on Monday reassured some internet hosting companies that would have faced hefty fines for distributing or maintaining TikTok that they can now do so without penalty. . TikTok announced that its sister app Lemon8 became operational again around the same time as TikTok.
Apple and Google are complying with laws that explicitly require app store operators to stop distributing and updating the ByteDance app. TikTok, CapCut, and Lemon8 were not available in the companies' app stores as of Tuesday afternoon in New York. The return of the cap cut is important, especially after Meta-owned Instagram announced a rival app called Edit over the weekend.
Federal law regarding ByteDance states that if the company's app is not sold to a non-Chinese owner by January 19th, it will be banned in the United States. The law was passed by Congress, signed by President Biden, and unanimously upheld by the Supreme Court. Friday, but Trump's order extended the deadline by 75 days. Tech companies are taking different approaches to working with ByteDance's app because it's unclear whether the president has the power to suspend federal law enforcement.
Mae Karwowski, founder of influencer marketing firm Obviously, said creators are breathing a sigh of relief at CapCut's return.
“People think it's the quickest and easiest way to edit videos on the fly,” she said. “Besides not being able to post on TikTok, I heard a lot of people say, 'Oh, this is going to be a big deal.'”
She added that CapCut's demise was jarring to some creators who didn't know they would be affected by the new law. “A lot of people forget that they are closely related and owned by the same people,” Karwowski said.
TikTok did not respond to requests for comment on when CapCut returned or why it remained offline longer than TikTok or Lemon8.
