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 Why does the bill impose prison sentences for people using VPN’s?
@SanDiegoSRA @MarkWarner Oh, we know he won't answer that. He'll skip over that question.
@SanDiegoSRA @MarkWarner Yep, up to 20 yrs in prison and/or a one million dollar fine if caught using a VPN. This country is turning into a damn police state!! All for the sake of "national security"...yeah right! Sick of being spied on while these crooks get away with murder!