What happens with CapCut if TikTok gets banned? What we know about the video editing app

20th Jan 2025 | Source: Yahoo

The short-form video app TikTok may go dark for American users this week, but it may not be the only platform made unavailable in the U.S.

TikTok could be banned in the U.S. if the platform's Chinese parent company ByteDance does not sell it by Sunday, Jan. 19. President Joe Biden last spring signed legislation establishing the ban as part of growing concerns that the platform could be sharing U.S. user data with the Chinese government. If banned, TikTok would become illegal for distribution on U.S. internet hosting services and app stores.

But TikTok isn't the only platform that ByteDance created, owns and operates. Video editing service CapCut is another. As Sunday inches closer, creators who utilize both CapCut for video editing and TikTok for video sharing are growing concerned about the future of content creation.

Here's what to know about CapCut and how the TikTok ban could affect the platform.

What is CapCut?

CapCut is a free video editing software, released by ByteDance in the U.S. in 2020. CapCut is available for mobile and desktop download and accessible through the CapCut website.

As of Thursday, CapCut was the second most downloaded photo and video app in the Apple App Store (after Instagram) and had been downloaded more than 1 billion times from the Google Play Store.

Will CapCut be banned if TikTok is banned?

CapCut is not explicitly named in the Protecting Americans From Foreign Adversary Control Applications App, which would implement the ban on TikTok. However, the legislation does address "any other applications or service development or provided by ByteDance." Therefore, CapCut could be affected.

TikTok nor CapCut immediately responded for comment when contacted by USA TODAY on Thursday.

Another social media app, growing in popularity, may also be banned.

Lemon8 is another social media app owned by ByteDance that may be banned in the U.S. on Sunday.

Described as a "lifestyle community," Lemon8 has been heavily promoted by TikTok as an alternative platform. As of Thursday, Lemon8 has reached the No. 1 downloaded lifestyle app in the Apple App Store and had been downloaded more than 10 million times from the Google Play Store.