Will TikTok Ban Be Challenged in Court? | Pivot

1. 0:00 – 0:30

   House passes TikTok divest-or-ban bill via foreign aid package; what happens next

   1. KSKara Swisher0:00

      The bill to ban or divest TikTok is now in the hands of the Senate following the passage in the House this weekend. The legislation, which passed by, uh, a 360-58 vote, was bundled into an aid package for Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan by Speaker Mike Johnson. Very cle- very clever Mike Johnson. If the bill... They already passed one, but it was stuck in the Senate. But this is a slightly different bill. If the bill makes it through the Senate, President Biden has said he will sign into law. TikTok parent company ByteDance then has 270 days to sell the app, m- closer to a year, or face

2. 0:30 – 1:14

   Legal challenge preview: First Amendment claims and prior TikTok injunctions

   1. KSKara Swisher0:30

      a ban. Um, let's talk about how it went down, 'cause they passed one that was getting trouble in the Senate. Maria Cantwell wasn't against it, now she's for it. ByteDance indicated it could mount a legal challenge. That's where it's going next, arguing the ban would trample free speech rights. It'll definitely go in the courts. It's lost... It's won before in courts. Um, in November, a federal judge blocked a Montana law to ban TikTok across the state specifically. Donald Trump attempted to ban TikTok in 2020, it was also rejected by a federal judge. It'll definitely go to the Supreme Court. Um, and then they'll have to at least look for a buyer in case they lose. But if this does become law, future bans of foreign companies and products, we've done that before. Um, so that's a very clever way to get it through. That's... And then, then then they have to deal with the, the law itself.

3. 1:14 – 2:01

   Scott’s comic detour: aging, catheters, and discovering CSPAN

   1. SGScott Galloway1:14

      I mean, there's so many ways you can tell you're getting older, right? You... The idea of a cruise does not sound horrific to me anymore. I'm, I'm, "Oh, okay." You know, um, I actually listened the other day. Someone was talking about catheters, and I'm like, "Say more, 'cause I know it's coming."

   2. KSKara Swisher1:27

      (laughs)

   3. SGScott Galloway1:27

      And the other... I'm not exaggerating, Kara. On, on Saturday-

   4. KSKara Swisher1:32

      (laughs)

   5. SGScott Galloway1:32

      ... I was obsessed with CSPAN.

   6. KSKara Swisher1:33

      Yeah.

   7. SGScott Galloway1:33

      I mean, I might as well have been 120 fucking years old.

   8. KSKara Swisher1:35

      Oh. (laughs)

   9. SGScott Galloway1:37

      This, uh, Saturday-

   10. KSKara Swisher1:40

       I'm just thinking of you in a catheter.

   11. SGScott Galloway1:42

       (laughs)

   12. KSKara Swisher1:42

       But go ahead.

   13. SGScott Galloway1:42

       Uh, my dad says the guy who invented the catheter should literally get the Nobel Prize. Um, anyways-

   14. KSKara Swisher1:49

       Well-

   15. SGScott Galloway1:49

       Um-

   16. KSKara Swisher1:49

       ... I can see that.

   17. SGScott Galloway1:50

       (laughs) I'm sorry, I got thrown off there.

   18. KSKara Swisher1:52

       Men have an easier time. (laughs)

   19. SGScott Galloway1:53

       Yeah.

   20. KSKara Swisher1:53

       Anyway. (laughs)

   21. SGScott Galloway1:53

       There we go. There we go.

   22. KSKara Swisher1:55

       Good.

   23. SGScott Galloway1:55

       So, um-

   24. KSKara Swisher1:56

       Yeah.

   25. SGScott Galloway1:56

       God, just talking about catheters makes me want to pee. Um, anyways.

   26. KSKara Swisher2:00

       Yeah. Okay.

4. 2:01 – 2:18

   Scott praises Speaker Mike Johnson’s strategy and the bill’s bipartisan momentum

   1. SGScott Galloway2:01

      I'm... Kara, I, I, I just want to be clear, uh, my new favorite-

   2. KSKara Swisher2:06

      Yeah.

   3. SGScott Galloway2:06

      ... person or near favorite person is Speaker Johnson.

   4. KSKara Swisher2:08

      Yeah. Oh, good heavens, he took so fucking long.

   5. SGScott Galloway2:11

      Well-

   6. KSKara Swisher2:11

      But go ahead.

   7. SGScott Galloway2:11

      Okay. He, he's done more than anyone else.

   8. KSKara Swisher2:14

      All right.

   9. SGScott Galloway2:14

      Um, okay.

   10. KSKara Swisher2:15

       Okay.

   11. SGScott Galloway2:16

       TikTok-

   12. KSKara Swisher2:17

       He delayed it.

   13. SGScott Galloway2:18

       This is-

   14. KSKara Swisher2:18

       And then saved the day.

5. 2:18 – 3:29

   Scott’s case for divestment: national framing, “trade symmetry,” and media ownership analogies

   1. SGScott Galloway2:18

      This is fantastic legislation. It'll end up being divested. Everyone's going to get their money. We're gonna make s- ensure that our young kid... That we don't raise a generation of civic, military and nonprofit and business leaders in America that hate America. It, it creates more trade symmetry. It is ridiculous that, uh, it... This is no different than in the '60s when we were in a cold war with Russia, we let the Kremlin own NBC, ABC and CBS. I am thrilled that there's an, "Oh wait, it got wrapped up in pushing back on a murderous autocrat. Oh wait, and it got wrapped up in a bill to support our supreme ally in the Middle East." I just like... Saturday, literally-

   2. KSKara Swisher2:54

      It is rather clever.

   3. SGScott Galloway2:55

      This little, this... You gotta give it to Speaker Johnson. You gotta give it to... And by the way, this thing is over, overwhelmingly passed. You, all this-

   4. KSKara Swisher3:04

      Mm-hmm.

   5. SGScott Galloway3:04

      You know, we talk about how bi- uh, how partisan the Congress has become. And this, you know, Marjorie Taylor Greene saying we shouldn't do any of it until we talk about the border bill that Trump told her not to pass.

   6. KSKara Swisher3:15

      Moscow Marjorie. Did you see that cover of the New York Post? Woo-hoo.

   7. SGScott Galloway3:19

      Every day, and Saturday I hated my life less than I have in a... Go America. Oh, let's push back on an autocrat. Oh, let's push back on a murderous terrorist group.

6. 3:29 – 4:03

   Will the courts block it? Kara predicts turbulence; Scott says it will hold up

   1. KSKara Swisher3:29

      All right, but it's gonna go to courts and you know it's gonna be blocked.

   2. SGScott Galloway3:32

      No, it's not. 100% no.

   3. KSKara Swisher3:32

      Right? It's gonna windy wind-

   4. SGScott Galloway3:34

      They're going at-

   5. KSKara Swisher3:34

      Okay.

   6. SGScott Galloway3:34

      They're going at this from trade symmetry, executive action, divestment, not free speech.

   7. KSKara Swisher3:40

      Okay. Yeah.

   8. SGScott Galloway3:40

      Go on, talk about your free speech bullshit, fine.

   9. KSKara Swisher3:44

      Okay.

   10. SGScott Galloway3:44

       We... Rupert Murdoch had to become a citizen. You're not allowed to own more than 20% of a broadcast station-

   11. KSKara Swisher3:50

       I wish that hadn't happened.

   12. SGScott Galloway3:51

       ... in the US, but we're gonna let TikTok own the frame through which young... This will-

   13. KSKara Swisher3:55

       It is a broadcast network. We, you and I both agree on it.

   14. SGScott Galloway3:57

       This will s- this will hold up.

   15. KSKara Swisher3:58

       But I think it's gonna... A little more tough going. Okay. All right. Well, all right then.

   16. SGScott Galloway4:02

       What do you think on going on here?

7. 4:03 – 4:34

   Senate pathway: clearing a prior logjam and potential blockers like Rand Paul and JD Vance

   1. KSKara Swisher4:03

      Okay, so Scott is thrilled. I, I like that you're all excited watching CSPAN. It's kind of weird with a catheter. But, um, yes, I think, I think it was a very clever way to do it. I thought, you know, they had a, they had a logjam in the Senate and it was gonna sit there. There are issues around Rand Paul might block it-

   2. SGScott Galloway4:20

      (laughs) Good luck with that.

   3. KSKara Swisher4:20

      ... uh, et cetera, and the whole thing. But they're gonna shove it past him, I think. Uh, but it may, it may be delayed, uh, because they're supposed to vote on it like in the next two days. But, um, you know, Rand Paul or someone else might be in the way. Or JD Vance, for example.

8. 4:34 – 5:23

   Reframing the measure: “ban” vs forced divestment and possible White House accommodations

   1. SGScott Galloway4:34

      They chose the wrong word saying ban. It's forced divestment. And what people don't appreciate is that there's a lot of light between a ban, divestment, and coming to some sort of accommodation with the White House. They'll, they will come back and they'll say, "All right, there's so much money here. How... Can we figure this out? White House, can we do some... Now that we actually believe you're going to ban us, we didn't believe it before with, you know, Joey Baga Yahoo-Flatulation was trying to carve it up and give it to his political friends. We knew that wasn't gonna work. We didn't think your Congress could get their act together. We didn't think that's gonna work. But now that it looks like it's gonna happen, hey Joe, is there any way we can come to some sort of accommodation where you're happy and we're happy?" There's a lot of things they can do to figure this out. What do you think?

9. 5:23 – 6:01

   Deal reality check: who gets the algorithm, what’s TikTok worth, and signs of growth flattening

   1. KSKara Swisher5:23

      Yeah, there's a lot going on there. I mean, these guys should just take their money and, and figure it out. The issue is what, who's gonna get the algorithm? I, I think all the parts of it will be, uh, chewed over for a while. Who, I don't, no one's getting the algorithm. What's it worth? Are you overpaying for it? It's a great brand. Will it be the same product? And my guess is already TikTok's numbers are, are sort of flattening a little bit compared... You know, it's not in that explosive growth period that it was in. Um, and so they have... It's a real problem for them because these people tend to move on from things very easily, as you know. Um, so we'll see.

Episode duration: 6:01