Is the RESTRICT Act too restrictive?
Republicans struggle to agree on how to deal with TikTok. (Solen Feyissa, CC BY-SA 2.0)
April 20, 2023 | Washington, D.C.
While most Republicans and the majority of Americans agree that the Chinese-owned video-sharing app, TikTok, is a national security risk and should be banned in the U.S., many are concerned that the RESTRICT Act to ban the app and other communication platforms developed by foreign adversaries would be a threat to basic American freedoms.
A group of lawmakers led by Senator John Thune (R-SD) and Senator Mark Warner (D-VA) introduced the bipartisan RESTRICT Act in the U.S. Senate on March 7, 2023. Known as the Restricting the Emergence of Security Threats that Risk Information and Communications Technology (RESTRICT) Act, S.686 initially received overwhelming support from Republicans.
“Chinese law requires social media and technology companies to provide information – including individually identifiable personal information – to the Chinese government when asked,” said Senator Thune. “This obviously has implications for Americans’ personal security and privacy. And it raises troubling questions about how the Chinese Communist Party could use TikTok for its own ends, whether that’s using personal data to develop sources for espionage or manipulating content to advance the Communist Party’s agenda.”
The bill aims to protect private data from being collected by foreign adversaries, including China and Russia, but includes broad federal provisions for doing so, creating the potential for more government overreach.
Concerns with the bill
Republicans began sounding the alarm in the weeks after the bill was introduced. According to Business Insider, Senator J.D. Vance (R-OH) called it a “PATRIOT Act for the digital age.” On Twitter, Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) retweeted an article in BASED Politics that called the bill a “Trojan horse.” Senator Paul argued, “If you’re going to ban TikTok, what’s next?”
State Freedom Caucus communications director Greg Price said on Twitter, “It gives the government the ability to go after anyone they deem as a national security risk at which point they can access everything from their computer to video games to their ring light. Believe it or not, it gets even worse: If they find you in violation, they can put you in jail for 20 years, fine you $1M, and seize your property. They can also deem any foreign government an adversary without informing Congress and everything they do is not subjected to FOIA.”
According to Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO), the RESTRICT Act gives new, open-ended authority to federal bureaucrats instead of banning TikTok directly. In opposition to the broader RESTRICT act, he introduced a separate, more targeted piece of legislation. Senator Hawley's call to unanimously pass his “No TikTok on United States Devices Act,” and his call to schedule a vote on the bill, were both objected to by Senator Paul due to concerns that banning TikTok would be unconstitutional and lead to the elimination of other communications platforms by the federal government.
Meanwhile, the Biden Administration expressed support for the RESTRICT Act. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan stated, “This legislation would provide the U.S. government with new mechanisms to mitigate the national security risks posed by high-risk technology businesses operating in the United States. Critically, it would strengthen our ability to address discrete risks posed by individual transactions, and systemic risks posed by certain classes of transactions involving countries of concern in sensitive technology sectors.” Sullivan urged the passage of the RESTRICT Act and indicated Biden’s willingness to quickly sign the bill into law.
Such eagerness on the part of the Biden Administration and support from the bill’s co-sponsors, including Senators Mitt Romney (R-UT), Susan Collins (R-ME), and Lindsey Graham (R-SC), along with numerous Democrat supporters in the Senate, brings into question the true purpose of the bill.
The RESTRICT Act remains stalled in the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. “I look forward to working with colleagues of both parties to further improve this legislation and advance it in the Senate,” Senator Thune said in an April 19 speech on the Senate floor.