White House Won't Prosecute Hostages' Families For Paying Ransom

This morning, President Obama met with families of Americans who have been taken captive by terror groups, to tell them about a significant change in U.S. policy. The president says families will no longer be threatened with prosecution if they pay ransoms to free their family members.

The change comes too late for the four Americans who have been killed by the Islamic State since last year. One of them is James Foley, a freelance journalist who was working for the online news company GlobalPost when he was taken captive three years ago. He was held for almost two years, and then killed last August.

Phil Balboni is CEO and co-founder of GlobalPost, and worked with Foley's family to try to secure his release. He talks with Here & Now's Robin Young about what the change in policy will mean for the families of hostages.