Tiktok is not the only app owned by Chinese internet giant Bytedance.
Capcut, the popular video editing app, was back online in the US on Tuesday after going dark over the weekend.
Users who opened the app or visited its website were greeted with a pop-up message on Tuesday. “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 ordinance apps went into effect on Sunday. TikTok returned for users in the United States on Sunday after President Trump said he would issue an executive order to stall enforcement of the law.
His order, issued Monday, came as a relief to Internet hosting companies that would have faced hefty fines for distributing or maintaining TikTok. Tiktok said its sister app, Lemon8, 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 refund apps. Tiktok, Capcut, and Lemon8 were unavailable on either company's App Store Tuesday afternoon in New York. Capcut's return is significant, especially after Meta-owned Instagram announced a rival app called Edit over the weekend.
Federal law on the ordinance said that if the app is not sold to a non-Chinese owner by Jan. 19, it will be banned in the United States. He said the law was passed by Congress, signed by President Biden, and unanimously upheld by the Supreme Court. On Friday, however, Trump's order extended the 75-day deadline. Tech companies are taking different approaches to manipulating the Ordinance app because it's unclear whether the president has the power to suspend federal law enforcement.
Mae Karwowski, founder of influencer marketing firm Reveal, said creators are breathing a sigh of relief as cup cuts are brought back.
“People find it to be the quickest and easiest way to edit videos on the fly,” she said. “I heard a lot of people say, 'Oh, this is going to hurt on its own.'
She added that Capcut's disappearance is jarring for its creators, who were also unaware that they would be affected by the new law. “A lot of people forgot that ownership goes hand in hand,” Karwowski said.
Tiktok did not respond to requests for comment on when Capcut returned or why it remained offline longer than Tiktok or Lemon8.
