The popular short-form video app TikTok could potentially be inaccessible to American users this week, as concerns over its ownership by Chinese parent company ByteDance continue to escalate. The looming possibility of a TikTok ban in the United States is contingent upon ByteDance’s failure to divest the platform by Sunday, January 19. This move was set in motion last spring by President Joe Biden, who signed legislation aiming to address fears that TikTok might be sharing sensitive user data with the Chinese government. If a ban were to be enforced, TikTok would be prohibited from distribution on U.S. internet hosting services and app stores, marking a significant shift in the digital landscape.
However, TikTok is not the sole platform under scrutiny. ByteDance, the company behind TikTok, also operates CapCut, a video editing service that has gained popularity among content creators. As the deadline approaches, individuals who rely on both CapCut for editing and TikTok for sharing their content are expressing apprehension about the potential impact on their creative endeavors.
CapCut, introduced by ByteDance in the U.S. in 2020, stands as a free video editing software available for both mobile and desktop platforms, with accessibility via the CapCut website. Impressively, as of recent data, CapCut has secured the second spot in the Apple App Store’s list of most downloaded photo and video apps, falling behind only Instagram. Moreover, it has garnered over 1 billion downloads from the Google Play Store, indicating its substantial user base and widespread appeal.
The question arises: Would CapCut face a ban if TikTok were to be prohibited in the U.S.? While CapCut is not explicitly mentioned in the legislation that would enforce the TikTok ban, the broader scope of the law includes provisions regarding “any other applications or service development provided by ByteDance.” Consequently, the status of CapCut could potentially be affected by the outcome of the TikTok situation. Despite attempts to seek clarity on this matter, representatives from both TikTok and CapCut have not provided immediate responses for comment, leaving many users in a state of uncertainty.
In addition to CapCut, another social media platform owned by ByteDance, Lemon8, is also under scrutiny and may face a similar fate as TikTok. Positioned as a “lifestyle community,” Lemon8 has been endorsed by TikTok as an alternative platform, garnering significant traction among users. Notably, Lemon8 has achieved the top spot in the list of most downloaded lifestyle apps in the Apple App Store and has been downloaded over 10 million times from the Google Play Store, underscoring its rising popularity.
As these developments unfold, the future of these platforms hangs in the balance, impacting not only the users who rely on them for content creation but also the broader social media landscape. The interconnected nature of these applications, all under the umbrella of ByteDance, raises questions about the potential ripple effects that a TikTok ban could have on related services.
