“Instagram Unleashes Cutting-Edge Video Editing Tool Amid TikTok’s Ban Turmoil”

For several months, Instagram has observed and anticipated the fate of competitor TikTok following the introduction of a new federal statute that would prohibit the app in the United States. On Sunday, the date when that law came into effect, Instagram seized the opportunity.

The social networking application, which is part of Meta, unveiled a new application named Edits, a video-editing tool that seemed to replicate CapCut, widely used by millions to assemble brief videos for TikTok. Both CapCut and TikTok are owned by ByteDance, the major Chinese tech firm, prompting U.S. examinations of the applications for national security concerns.

“There’s a lot happening in the world at the moment,” Adam Mosseri, the head of Instagram, expressed in a post to the platform on Sunday. “Regardless of the outcome, we believe it is our responsibility to provide the most engaging creative tools for those of you who produce videos.”

TikTok and its affiliated apps, CapCut and Lemon8, have consistently posed a challenge to American social media platforms. TikTok boasts 170 million users in the U.S. and indicated in legal documents that it could not afford to go offline even briefly because it would experience a competitive setback in one of its largest marketplaces.

Late Saturday, just hours before the federal ban on TikTok was to come into force, TikTok, CapCut, and Lemon8 became inaccessible, although TikTok briefly returned on Sunday as President-elect Donald J. Trump announced his intention to issue an executive order this week to delay the ban.

TikTok’s rivals have been quick to capitalize on the predicament. Mr. Mosseri characterized Edits as crafted specifically for creators to edit videos on their mobile devices and to store ideas for other videos they might want to share later.

Mr. Mosseri indicated that users could utilize Edits to produce videos and share them on any platform of their choice, not limited to Instagram. Influencers have commonly turned to CapCut to develop videos and disseminate them across various platforms, including TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube.

Mr. Mosseri announced that individuals could preorder Edits in the Apple App Store starting Sunday and that the app would be released for Android devices in February.

Mark Zuckerberg, the CEO of Meta, has publicly discussed observing TikTok’s challenges unfold. His Silicon Valley company has engaged lobbyists to advocate that American technology firms must take precedence, as part of winning a technology competition against China.

During a gathering with employees last week, Meta’s chief marketing officer asserted that the company must be ready for a potential shift of TikTok’s users to Meta’s applications and should allocate personnel and other resources to prepare for those potential transitions. Instagram also updated its design for some users last week, arranging content in a vertical, rectangular format reminiscent of TikTok.

Instagram has persistently aimed to imitate TikTok’s achievements. In 2020, Instagram introduced Reels, a near-exact replica of TikTok’s signature short-form video style. Reels has grown to become one of the most favored features on Instagram and Facebook.

Internet users in the U.S. have indicated that they would likely watch Instagram Reels if TikTok was banned, as per a recent survey conducted by TD Cowen involving 2,500 consumers. Reels would attract 29 percent of respondents, while 23 percent stated they would spend additional time on YouTube Shorts, and 15 percent would seek an alternative app, according to the study.

Among advertisers, Instagram’s edge appeared even more pronounced, with 56 percent of ad purchasers informing TD Cowen in a survey last quarter that their clients most desired to promote on Reels this year. An additional 24 percent preferred YouTube Shorts, while 20 percent opted for TikTok.

Madison Malone Kircher contributed reporting from New York.