As consumers of technology, we’ve been trained to think that lengthy and intricate terms and conditions might contain hidden surprises that we agree to without actually reading. That memorable, somewhat graphic episode of South Park comes to mind.

It’s not surprising that TikTok users are concerned about the changes to CapCut’s terms of service (TOS). For those who might not know, CapCut is a widely-used video editing application owned by ByteDance, which is the parent company of TikTok. It serves as the primary editing tool for TikTok, especially for creators who manage all their content independently. Numerous posts have addressed the changes in CapCut’s terms of service, but the most popular and detailed post came from @bymilaholmes, featured below. It has attracted over seven million views on TikTok.

The TikTok user argues that the revised terms of service for CapCut are especially onerous. The key points from the post state: 1) CapCut obtains licensing rights for all content uploaded to its platform, and 2) although you retain copyright over your CapCut content, there could be complications if the company misuses it (e.g., playing a celebrity’s song without permission).

A brief glance at the new terms of service showcases intimidating legal terminology like “perpetual, worldwide license.”

Nonetheless, worries about CapCut’s TOS may be overstated. To clarify, the language highlighted by @bymilaholmes and others does exist. Below is a section relating to licenses from CapCut’s most recent TOS, updated on June 12.

“Except as expressly stated otherwise in these Terms, you or the owner of your User Content retain the copyright and any other intellectual property rights in User Content submitted to us; however, by submitting User Content through the Services, you acknowledge and agree that you permit us to upload such content to our server and hereby grant us and our affiliates, agents, service providers, partners, and other associated third parties an unconditional, irrevocable, non-exclusive, royalty-free, fully transferable (including sub-licensable), perpetual, worldwide license to use, modify, adapt, reproduce, create derivative works from, display, publish, transmit, distribute and/or store your User Content for providing the Services for you.

You further grant us and our affiliates, agents, service providers, partners, and other connected third parties a royalty-free fully transferable (including sub-licensable), worldwide license to use your username, image, and likeness to identify you as the source of any of your User Content, including for use in sponsored content.”

This may sound quite concerning. So, does CapCut really obtain indefinite access to your content? Kind of, but this is typical for many platforms. It doesn’t mean the company can claim your content as its own — you still hold that intellectual property. However, it allows CapCut to utilize your content in advertising while attributing it to you, for instance. You’ve probably encountered ads like this, showcasing users’ posts for promotional purposes. Such language isn’t out of the ordinary.

Here’s an intriguing TikTok that explains this fact by @seansvv, a creator focused on analyzing these types of fine-print inquiries.

Creator @seansvv’s main arguments are that: 1) not much has changed in CapCut’s TOS, 2) the licensing pertains to functionalities like displaying and modifying content within the app, not theft, and 3) the licensing is not necessarily a new development.

If you search a bit, you’ll discover that this type of licensing and intellectual property terminology is not unique to CapCut. Here’s a section of similar legal language from TikTok’s terms of service.

“You or the owner of your User Content still retain the copyright in User Content sent to us, but by submitting User Content via the Services, you hereby grant us an unconditional irrevocable, non-exclusive, royalty-free, fully transferable, perpetual worldwide license to use, modify, adapt, reproduce, create derivative works from, publish and/or transmit, and/or distribute and to authorize other users of the Services and other third parties to view, access, use, download, modify, adapt, reproduce, create derivative works from, publish and/or transmit your User Content in any format and on any platform, either now known or hereinafter invented.