TikTok went from dark to back online within a span of a few hours for its 170 million American users, thanks to President-elect Donald Trump, who vowed to save Americans’ privacy. TikTok stopped airing its services in the U.S. on Saturday evening, a day before a law banning the service was scheduled to go into effect. However, the Chinese social media app’s services in the U.S. resumed on Sunday evening. Meanwhile, the largest beneficiary, Meta Platforms (META), was quick to swoop into the market by unveiling a new video editing app, Edits.
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Along with TikTok, parent company ByteDance’s other apps, including CapCut and Lemon8, also became unavailable for use and download in the U.S. CapCut is a free, short-form video editing app, while Lemon8 is a free lifestyle community app commonly used for sharing photos.
TikTok’s Fate Remains in Trump’s Hands
On Sunday, Trump said on his social media platform Truth Social (DJT) that he would revive TikTok in the U.S. and issue an executive order to delay the ban after he is sworn in as the President on Monday. Additionally, Trump assured app service providers such as Apple (AAPL) and Alphabet’s (GOOGL) Google that there would be no penalty/liability for them for offering the app in the U.S. At the same time, Trump added that he would prefer TikTok to sell at least 50% stake in its U.S. operations through a joint venture to American players.
Notably, TikTok-owner ByteDance has assured that it will work coherently with President Trump on a long-term solution to keep TikTok in the U.S. TikTok CEO Shou Chew is also expected to attend Trump’s inaugural ceremony in the U.S. today. Interestingly, Trump is expected to sign around 100 executive orders as soon as his presidential term begins today. Some of the notable changes include orders on immigration, strengthening border security, enhanced tariffs, and declaring an energy emergency, among others.
Meta Unveils Video Editing App Edits
Meta Platforms took no time to fill in the void created by the brief blackout of ByteDance’s video editing app, CapCut, in the U.S. On Sunday, Meta unveiled its new video editing app, Edits, which will roll out next month on iOS devices. Edits can be used for editing videos and uploading them on Instagram. The app will also allow sharing drafts with friends and taking feedback from creators. The Android version of the app would follow soon, Instagram’s head Adam Mosseri said on Threads.
On earlier occasions, too, Meta has swooped into the market to capture another app’s loss. For instance, Meta launched Reels in India in 2020, when TikTok was banned in the country. Similarly, Meta launched Threads to rival Elon Musk’s X. Remarkably, Meta stands to be one of the largest beneficiaries of the possible TikTok ban in the U.S. Having said that, Trump’s intervention to save the app could hamper Meta’s ambitions to become the number 1 app seller in the U.S.
Is META a Good Buy Right Now?
Wall Street remains highly optimistic about Meta stock. On TipRanks, META stock commands a Strong Buy consensus rating based on 40 Buys, three Holds, and one Sell rating. Also, the average Meta Platforms price target of $689.12 implies 12.5% upside potential from current levels. In the past year, META shares have gained 61.1%.
