ByteDance’s CapCut Could Cause New D.C. Headaches

Over the past few months, I've been hearing a lot more about ByteDance-owned CapCut, with many creators telling me they use the app as their main editing tool, which provides trendy templates and filters to spruce up videos. Some of this growth comes from its sister app TikTok, where users see videos made with CapCut and then get the app, making it the second most-downloaded free iPhone app in the U.S. last year. 

But recent management changes at parent ByteDance have exposed a potential headache for the company. The app, unlike TikTok, is directly run by ByteDance executives in China, my colleague Juro reports. The situation has been a concern for ByteDance insiders, who have worried that running CapCut out of China could increase Washington’s scrutiny over the TikTok parent.