CapCut Suspends U.S. Operations Alongside TikTok Due to Ban

Following the TikTok ban, ByteDance has shut down CapCut and Lemon8 in the U.S. Efforts are being made to restore these services, although users are currently facing access restrictions due to ongoing privacy and security concerns.

ByteDance has officially shut down three of its popular apps in the United States. After the earlier shutdown of TikTok and the social media platform Lemon8, CapCut, a widely used video editing app, has also been taken offline. Users are now facing access restrictions, with both platforms displaying notifications about their unavailability. Lemon8, the social media app, announced plans to collaborate with President Trump to find a solution for reinstating the app once he takes office. Similarly, CapCut assured users that efforts are underway to restore the service in the U.S. and offered the option to manage account data and seek support via email. These shutdowns come amid growing concerns over data privacy and national security amid ongoing U.S.-China tensions.

Reports had suggested there might be no interruption to the app, with the Biden Administration seemingly aiming to avoid enforcing the bill and leaving it to the incoming Trump administration to address. However, according to the law’s wording, app stores are responsible for enforcing the app’s removal. Since the Biden team couldn’t assure the app stores that they wouldn’t face fines, the only option was to shut it down.

This sets the stage for Trump to potentially reinstate it.

Trump, now a fan of TikTok after gaining popularity on the platform, is eager to find a way to keep the app active in the U.S. However, since he doesn’t take office until Monday, he cannot intervene to stop the law from taking effect the day before.

This is likely why TikTok is describing the situation as temporary, as it seems Trump has pledged to restore the app as soon as possible.

It’s also worth noting that TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew will be present at Trump’s inauguration on Monday.

For clarity, Trump did not initiate the TikTok ban in 2020 out of national security concerns, but rather as part of a response to China over the spread of COVID-19. To accomplish this, Trump issued an executive order to ban the app, but the justification for the ban was deemed insufficient, and the Trump Administration lacked the necessary evidence to enforce it.

This is why the Biden Administration abandoned its original push for a TikTok sell-off in 2021. However, even then, security agencies were assessing the potential risks of TikTok and had seemingly found evidence suggesting that Chinese-based groups were using the app to promote pro-China content and/or collect user information.

While the exact findings remain undisclosed, this secondary push ultimately led to the formation of the now-approved TikTok sell-off bill.

Although Trump attempted to ban the app in 2020 and it may seem like a major shift for him to go from being TikTok’s biggest opponent to its potential savior, the two actions are separate and had distinct reasoning and justifications.

The likely outcome now is that Trump will take control of the situation, potentially negotiating a new deal to sell the app to a U.S. company or consortium, or even striking an agreement with China to keep it operating as before.

It appears Trump will need to find a new approach to satisfy legal requirements, which could lead to TikTok being sold to one of his supporters. Regardless, given his affinity for the app, it seems TikTok will only be unavailable in the U.S. for a few days before returning.

So, there’s no need to change your strategy or rethink your influencer marketing plans—TikTok will be back, but it won’t be accessible to U.S. users as of tomorrow.

‘Marvel Snap’ Is Now Banned In The US.

While the shutdown of TikTok, one of the most popular social media apps in the U.S., is dominating the conversation, an often overlooked part of the story is that it affects all apps from its parent company, ByteDance. This includes the video editing app CapCut, but as gamers discovered late on Sunday, it also extends to…Marvel Snap?

Marvel Snap, a digital card game developed by Second Dinner, is caught in this situation because ByteDance was the publisher of the game. There was a contentious situation in 2023 when ByteDance divested from its gaming subsidiary Nuverse as part of a restructuring of its gaming business. However, Marvel Snap continued to operate after ByteDance’s exit, suggesting they were still technically the publisher, which appears to be why it’s being affected.

Despite supposedly stepping away from the gaming sector, ByteDance took Marvel Snap offline ahead of the broader company ban along with its other apps. When players attempt to log in, they’re greeted with a nearly identical message to the one TikTok users are seeing, which reads:

TikTok is facing a ban this Sunday. Here’s what it means for you.