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Supreme Court clears way to ban TikTok in the U.S.
Clip: 1/17/2025 | 5m 52sVideo has Closed Captions
Biden White House says enforcement of TikTok ban will fall to Trump
The Supreme Court unanimously upheld a law that threatens to shut down TikTok as soon as Sunday. The justices ruled free speech rights must yield to concerns that Chinese control of the popular social media app creates a national security risk. President Biden said enforcement of the ban will fall to the incoming Trump administration. White House Correspondent Laura Barrón-López reports.
Major corporate funding for the PBS News Hour is provided by BDO, BNSF, Consumer Cellular, American Cruise Lines, and Raymond James. Funding for the PBS NewsHour Weekend is provided by...
![PBS News Hour](https://image.pbs.org/contentchannels/ReSXiaU-white-logo-41-xYfzfok.png?format=webp&resize=200x)
Supreme Court clears way to ban TikTok in the U.S.
Clip: 1/17/2025 | 5m 52sVideo has Closed Captions
The Supreme Court unanimously upheld a law that threatens to shut down TikTok as soon as Sunday. The justices ruled free speech rights must yield to concerns that Chinese control of the popular social media app creates a national security risk. President Biden said enforcement of the ban will fall to the incoming Trump administration. White House Correspondent Laura Barrón-López reports.
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Learn Moreabout PBS online sponsorshipGEOFF BENNETT: Today, the Supreme Court unanimously upheld a law that threatens to shut down the wildly popular social media app TikTok as soon as Sunday.
The justices ruled that free speech rights must yield to concerns that Chinese control of the app creates a national security risk.
With just three days left in office, President Biden has said that the enforcement of the ban will now fall to the incoming Trump administration.
Our White House correspondent, Laura Barron-Lopez, has been covering this and more and joins us now.
So, Laura, let's start with this TikTok decision.
And we should say for the unfamiliar, it's not the content that's the issue.
It's the ownership and this judgment by U.S. officials and lawmakers that presents a national security threat.
How is the Biden administration going to handle this?
LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: So, the White House issued a statement today.
And, in it, said that: "President Biden believes TikTok should remain available to Americans, but simply under American ownership or other ownership that addresses the national security concerns identified by Congress in developing this law.'
So, as you said, it's about the ownership.
President-elect Trump said in a TRUTH Social post today that his decision on TikTok will be made in the not-too-distant future.
He has to review the situation.
So, ultimately, Geoff, as the current White House said, this is ultimately going to have to be implemented by the incoming administration.
GEOFF BENNETT: And I saw today, Laura, where the CEO of TikTok, who was invited and will attend Monday's inauguration alongside other tech leaders, he posted a message on that platform.
What did he say?
LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: That's right.
TikTok's CEO Shou Chew posted on TikTok, crediting the president-elect earlier today.
SHOU ZI CHEW, CEO, TikTok: On behalf of everyone at TikTok and all our users across the country, I want to thank President Trump for his commitment to work with us to find a solution that keeps TikTok available in the United States.
LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: And as you said, Geoff, Chew, along with other tech moguls like Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg, plan to be in attendance at the inauguration Monday.
GEOFF BENNETT: So the Biden White House says it won't enforce this TikTok ban that it signed into law.
Instead, they unilaterally declared that the Equal Rights Amendment is now the law of the land?
Tell us about that.
LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: So, the president-elect - - President Biden believes that the Equal Rights Amendment, the 28th Amendment, is ratified, is a ratified addition to the Constitution after Virginia became the 38th state to ratify it in 2020.
And the ERA, as many know, bans discrimination based on sex.
It was first passed in 1972.
The deadline for ERA ratification, though, Geoff, was in 1979.
It was extended to 1982.
So Congress missed that deadline by decades.
GEOFF BENNETT: So this is entirely symbolic?
LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: Exactly.
It is symbolic.
It has no effect.
The person in charge of certifying and publishing the amendment is the national archivist.
But in December, she said, Colleen Shogan said that ultimately it's up to Congress to extend that deadline.
And without that happening, this ERA is not actually ratified.
GEOFF BENNETT: We also saw today, Laura, as if all of that wasn't enough, that HHS published the next list of drugs for Medicare price negotiations.
I see 15 drugs here on this list.
Break down what's here.
LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: That's right, 15 new drugs today as part -- that negotiation was allowed under the Inflation Reduction Act.
And to date, so far, 25 drugs total are up for Medicare price negotiation.
And the announcement today includes those popular drugs Ozempic and Wegovy.
All 25 drugs make up 30 percent of Medicare spending.
And the new prices are set to take effect in 2026 and 2027.
And we should note that Medicare only covers those popular drugs Ozempic and Wegovy if you have a preexisting condition like diabetes or heart disease.
It's not covered only for weight loss.
And other drugs that were included in that negotiation list include drugs that treat cancer, asthma and arthritis.
GEOFF BENNETT: President-elect Trump, though, has talked about repealing the law that allows for these negotiations.
And RFK Jr., who could be confirmed, the next HHS secretary, has opposed some of the drugs on this list.
So what does that mean for this?
LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: So much of the Medicare negotiations is set in that law.
But president-elect Trump could decide that he doesn't want to be as aggressive at the negotiating table and take a more industry-friendly stance in those negotiations.
Now, when it comes to the ability for the next administration to decide more expansive coverage for Ozempic and Wegovy and these weight loss drugs, they may be feeling some pressure from today's announcement and from the fact that President Biden already has a regulation in the works that they will decide whether or not to finalize that would expand coverage of these weight loss drugs to Medicare and Medicaid, so more people would qualify for these drugs under those programs.
GEOFF BENNETT: And there was also an historic clemency announcement from the White House today.
Tell us about that.
LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: So it's a historic day on this front, Geoff.
And let's go through the numbers.
Today, President Biden issued 2,500 commutations for nonviolent drug offenses.
So that means that President Biden has issued more pardons and commutations than any U.S. president.
In December, he had a record -- set a record at that point for 1,500 commutations.
And we can expect more preemptive pardons to be coming.
Biden was seen as the architect by some in his party of mass incarceration because of the '90s crime bill that he was a part of.
But today's actions represent a big shift for President Biden.
And they also represent a big focus on the sentencing disparities for crack and cocaine-related crimes.
So many of the legal scholars I spoke to said that today's actions could be legacy-defining for President Biden.
GEOFF BENNETT: Laura Barron-Lopez, thanks so much for all of this reporting.
We appreciate it.
LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: Thank you.
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Learn Moreabout PBS online sponsorshipMajor corporate funding for the PBS News Hour is provided by BDO, BNSF, Consumer Cellular, American Cruise Lines, and Raymond James. Funding for the PBS NewsHour Weekend is provided by...