China · Joe Biden · TikTok · U.S. · US Congress · Wired
The TikTok Ban Was Never About TikTok
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It’s strange to see your life playing out on the big screen, but that’s what it felt like when the reporter got an advanced look at TikTok Never Dies, a new documentary chronicling the high-stakes legal drama around banning TikTok in the United States.
Key facts
- After former President Joe Biden signed a law in 2024 requiring ByteDance to sell TikTok or face a US ban, the company sued the government
- Directed by Emmy-winning documentary filmmaker Hao Wu, the film is premiering on Thursday at the Tribeca Film Festival
- Sensing that the drama would be a perfect plot line for a documentary, Wu immediately reached out to all the influencers involved in the lawsuit, eventually deciding to follow three of them: Steven
- It went through countless debates and battles when it passed through Congress, the Supreme Court, and the White House
Summary
Directed by Emmy-winning documentary filmmaker Hao Wu, the film is premiering on Thursday at the Tribeca Film Festival. After former President Joe Biden signed a law in 2024 requiring ByteDance to sell TikTok or face a US ban, the company sued the government. While they were all on the same side of the lawsuit, they are also different from each other and represent a diverse sample of the more than 200 millions Americans who use TikTok. Wu’s camera was rolling during important moments, including the one day in 2025 when TikTok briefly went dark in the US to protest Biden’s imminent ban.