Ever since TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew appeared before congress for an embarrassing hearing regarding his company’s treatment of its user’s data, people can’t stop talking about the app’s potential ban. Now, congress has a bipartisan bill in place to do just that; but it’s not what it sounds like.


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Titled the RESTRICT Act, the new bill would potentially outlaw TikTok along with any technology associated with enemies of the state. Called “a systematic framework for addressing technology-based threats to the security and safety of Americans” by the White House, the bill is anything but. In reality, it demonstrates a blatant attempt to censor and restrict basic online freedoms of American people. Learn from these Twitter threads about why people are saying the RESTRICT Act, and its sister bill the DATA Act, are even worse than the infamous Patriot Act.




The aptly titled RESTRICT Act, allows the government to access any and all of your data through home wifi networks, cellular data networks, and more. The TikToker chiefgyk3d reviews all the ways you could be monitored.



The use of VPNs would also be illegal, both to access banned content and misdirect surveillance. The punishments would be a minimum sentence of 20 years in prison and between $250,000 and $1 million in fines.



The concept of ‘foreign adversaries’ is central to this bill, and they are currently listed as China, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Russia, and Venezuela. However, that list is subject to change at any time without warning, something that could have devastating personal consequences considering the aforementioned legal repercussions.



This monumental authority will be given to an independent group under the control of a new Secretary of Communications, who can make unchecked decisions behind closed doors.




It is terrifyingly ironic that a bill designed to protect American data from foreign adversaries does more than any of those adversaries to violate the privacy and security of the American people. “So they’re freaking out about TikTok because we could be spied on,” says one TikTok commenter, “but they are giving themselves the power to spy on us, got it.”


Fortunately, the bill has not been voted on yet, and the TikToker Sayheyjames describes how you can help stop it.