I have been incredibly vocal in criticizing U.S. tech companies over the years, and I have written bills that would reign in their bad practices. We absolutely need comprehensive privacy laws in the U.S., and I’ll continue to push for those, too.
MYTH: The RESTRICT Act criminalizes what you can say online. Fact: The RESTRICT Act is focused on foreign corporations, not on users. The 1st Amendment protects Americans’ right to share and receive information – and this bill doesn’t alter that.
The RESTRICT Act builds on a process – created under President Trump and supported by President Biden – that would allow the Secretary of Commerce to review certain transactions. What kind of transactions…?
The government is only able to review “covered transactions,” which means transactions involving a foreign adversary (China, Russia, Cuba, Venezuela, North Korea, Iran) or an entity based in those countries.
But it’s actually even more specific than that. The RESTRICT Act only has the power to mitigate extremely high risk actions – like sabotaging U.S. tech, catastrophically impacting infrastructure, or interfering in our federal elections.
Let me say it again: there are NO criminal penalties in this bill for your free speech – you’re even free to drag the RESTRICT Act if you want! I stand firmly with freedom of speech, and my bill doesn’t affect or influence what Americans can say in any way, shape or form.
This bill takes on big, systemic threats to our national security – not individual users.
MYTH: Senators don’t understand that people make their living on TikTok! Fact: I think there’s a lot of creativity happening on TikTok! I know influencers & other Americans rely on it. I’m also a former tech entrepreneur, and I wholeheartedly believe in the free marketplace.
But there’s a reason we’re all not on MySpace anymore – the internet adapts. I have total confidence that there will be apps out there that can facilitate the same communications as TikTok, without being beholden to an authoritarian, communist regime that endangers our security.
I also want to point out this legislation really isn’t unusual or overreaching on the global stage – plenty of countries have taken even more direct action against TikTok specifically.
TikTok is outright banned in India. It’s banned on government devices in Canada, the EU, the UK, Norway, New Zealand, and Belgium. We’re likely to see more countries follow suit soon.
Folks, I’m glad to engage in discussion about this bill and hear critiques. This bill is about protecting YOUR privacy from authoritarian nations and protecting Americans from foreign coercion. I’m proud of the bipartisan coalition we’ve built to get it done.
@MarkWarner So authoritarian regime bans app from authoritarian regime, that’s why we instruct you to not proceed.
@MarkWarner I’m not for banning anything…. But why not a simple bill that BANS TIK TOK? Instead your opening a Pandora’s box of authoritarianism.. #StopTheRestrictAct
@MarkWarner Nothing good ever came from censorship.
@MarkWarner Senator Warner, please tell the American people if The Restrict Act include and allows the federal government to access all personal electronic communications and all personal information, including cameras at one’s home or business. TikTok is not mentioned in The Restrict Act.
@MarkWarner You @MarkWarner and @timkaine are BOTH FIRED!!!!! Come the next election cycle.
@MarkWarner @InSpiteOfTrump Smokescreen! Let’s talk about REAL issues!
@MarkWarner You do understand that TikTok is trying to get US data housed in the US correct. Why not facilitate that? The data in China is already possibly compromised, you cannot get it back but moving forward is another story. I understand Facebook already sold China our data.
@MarkWarner Why not a data security bill instead of a "restrict my 1st and 4th amendment rights bill?
@MarkWarner “It’s banned in India” under Modi’s Authoritarian regime probably isn’t the endorsement you’re looking for Mark