Instagram and Musk’s X tout new video tools on TikTok ban day

Instagram announced a new video editing app on the same day that rival video service TikTok briefly went dark in response to a federal ban.

Instagram announced a new video editing app, called Edits, on the same day that rival video service TikTok briefly went dark in response to a federal ban. X also touted the launch of a dedicated video tab in its mobile app.

Experts have said that without the coveted algorithm, TikTok in US would be like an island disconnected from global content. (Getty Images via AFP)

The new Meta Platforms Inc. app, which won’t be available until February, will offer “a full suite of creative tools,” according to a post on Sunday from Adam Mosseri, the head of the social media platform. People can use Edits to store video drafts, edit clips and add features like green screens, overlays and transitions, according to a Meta spokesperson.

Instagram, part of Mark Zuckerberg’s social network empire, announced the new software just hours after TikTok shut off its service in the US following the implementation of a new national security law. That law also affected other ByteDance Ltd. properties beyond TikTok, including video-editing app CapCut.

TikTok has since restored service after President-elect Donald Trump halted enforcement of the ban, but its long-term future is still in doubt as the law requires that its Chinese parent company sell the app’s US business. Trump has said he aims to facilitate a joint venture with new US-based owners acquiring 50% of the company.

Elon Musk’s X, formerly Twitter, is trying to gain a foothold in many different areas of online content, spanning everything from live streaming to video podcasts and longform interviews. It announced that it’s rolling out “an immersive new home for videos” to users in the US from Sunday.

Instagram is considered one of the main beneficiaries of a TikTok ban. It already has a similar short-form video product, called Reels, that is used widely in the US and other large markets like India. Launching a new video editing app amid the TikTok uncertainty could entice creators who may be looking for a new place to edit and post their content.

Instagram was running ads in Apple Inc.’s App Store after TikTok was pulled down overnight. People who searched for “TikTok” were greeted with a promotion for Instagram instead.