What is Capcut? Chinese app banned in the US alongside TikTok — details inside

Along with TikTok, another Chinese app owned by ByteDance has stopped working in the US. The popular video editing app, CapCut showed a similar error on Sunday telling users that a federal law banning it has come into effect.

“Sorry, CapCut isn't available right now. A law banning CapCut has been enacted in the U.S. Unfortunately, that means you can't use CapCut for now. Rest assured, we're working to restore our service in the U.S. Please stay tuned! In the meantime, you can still manage your account data.” a notification in the Capcut app showed. 

What is Capcut? 

CapCut is a free video editing app that allows users to create videos and graphics on mobile and desktop. The app was released in the US in 2020 and was the second most downloaded photo and video app in the App store and garnered over 1 billion downloads on the Google Play Store, as per USA Today.

The video editing app is optimized for vertical videos that can be posted on TikTok or Instagram. It is often used by amateur creators owing to its profresional features, as per Wired. 

Why is TikTok and Capcut banned in the US? 

The US Supreme Court on Friday (17 January) dealt a blow to TikTok by refusing to block a law that mandates the popular video app to either be sold by its Chinese parent company, ByteDance, or face a ban in the United States on national security grounds. This decision has serious implications for TikTok, which is used by nearly half of Americans.

In a unanimous ruling, the justices upheld the law, passed with broad bipartisan support in Congress last year and signed by President Joe Biden. The Court ruled that the law did not violate the First Amendment rights to free speech, affirming a lower court’s decision. The ruling emphasized Congress’s concerns over national security, particularly TikTok’s data practices and its connection to China.