The RESTRICT Act, sponsored by Sen. Mark Warner (D- VA) and introduced on March 7, targets restrictions related to information technologies and communications between the U.S. and foreign adversaries.
The bipartisan bill’s stated purpose is “to authorize the Secretary of Commerce to review and prohibit certain transactions between persons in the United States and foreign adversaries, and for other purposes,” with the “foreign adversaries” being the countries of China, Cuba, Iran, Russia, North Korea, and Venezuela.
The RESTRICT Act would grant the United States government the power to survey and investigate most technologies around the county, ranging from WiFi services to mobile apps to satellites, so long as these technologies are being used by 1 million people or more in the U.S.
The bill would give the government the ability to ban apps like TikTok, which they deem as posing “undue or unacceptable risk to the national security of the United States or the safety of United States persons”. As tensions between the U.S. and China grow, the concern exists that the Chinese app could be used to provide data on American users, thus posing a security threat.
However, some are concerned that the act would give the government too much power to restrict online communications, therefore limiting freedom of expression.
Riana Pfefferkorn, a researcher at the Stanford Internet Observatory, told VICE in email correspondence, “This bill certainly is troubling in that it would grant a great amount of power to the executive branch,”
“That should be unsettling in any context: recent examples around the world, from Israel to China, are showing us the risks that arise from upsetting checks and balances to favor executive power.”
Safety concerns relating to Tik Tok have been on the rise since2020, when former President Donald Trump attempted unsuccessfully to push efforts to ban the app.
The Act states that it would be unlawful for any person to violate any mitigation measure issued under it, and individuals could face civil penalties of up to $250,000 or “twice the value of the transaction that is the basis of the violation with respect to which the penalty is imposed” and criminal penalties of no more than $1 million and up to 20 years of imprisonment.
The bill would also grant the executive branch power to take actions regarding “undue or unacceptable risk” posed by information and communication technology.
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has expressed their opposition to the act, stating that blocking entire services and apps violates the First Amendment right to freedom of speech.
