RESTRICT Act is All Wrong
So-called “Tik Tok Ban” doesn’t ban Tik Tok, it’s a Trojan Horse for U.S. intel agencies
For weeks we’ve been hearing about the “Tik Tok Ban” being considered by Congress. There’s good reason to ban Tik Tok – in addition to being Chinese Communist Party spyware, there’s ample evidence that the Tik Tok we have here in the U.S. is poison for kid’s minds. Which, of course, is why the Tik Tok they have in China bears almost no resemblance to the sex, drugs, money, games version of the app that U.S. children are subjected to. China’s version is filled with educational videos, with severe limits on how much time Chinese children can spend on it (or any online activity). As such, the various state legislatures which have already moved to ban Tik Tok from state devices are to be applauded.
There’s no good reason for any government official to have the app on their devices, and there is ample reason for the federal government to follow in the footsteps of Alabama, Utah, South Dakota, Maryland and Texas by banning Tik Tok on government-issued devices. Accordingly, many people on both sides of the aisle cheered when Congress appeared to take up legislation to do just that. Unfortunately, like much of the garbage spewing out of D.C. these days, the so called federal “Tik Tok Ban” isn’t at all what it’s being sold as.
First off, it doesn’t actually ban Tik Tok from anything, it simply instructs the Commerce Department to consider banning Tik Tok. Trusting the swamp to do anything to benefit average American citizens these days is a like betting on a quarter to land on its edge – theoretically possible, implausibly unlikely. What the bill, called the RESTRICT Act, really does is open the door for U.S. intel and law enforcement agencies to up their spying on U.S. citizens and codifies their ability to use big tech against our citizenry. As the Twitter Files have made abundantly clear, the people running our federal intel and law enforcement do not view the American people as their allies, but as charges to be ruled over. The Twitter Files exposed their evil outlook on the world, but certainly didn’t end it. Hence the RESTRICT Act, a deceptive end run around voter outrage on government domestic intrusion hiding behind national security concerns.
Here’s what the bill actually does:
Gives the government authority over all forms of communication, both domestic and international
Grants powers to “enforce any mitigation measure to address any risk” to national security now and in any “potential future transaction”
Can you identify any limitation in that language on what the government could do in the future? Anything they declare misinformation (you know, like accurate data on Covid or it’s origins) won’t merely be subject to the suspensions and shadow banning of the Twitter Files, but to felony charges and immediate seizure of virtually any and all property.
This bill is nothing short of tyranny. Nobody, left or right, should vote for this monstrosity.
Sam Stone is the Co-Host of Breaking Battlegrounds
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