The 'Insanely Broad' RESTRICT Act Could Ban Much More Than Just TikTok

Joseph Cox at Vice News: 

The RESTRICT Act, a proposed piece of legislation which provides one way the government might ban TikTok, contains “insanely broad” language and could lead to other apps or communications services with connections to foreign countries being banned in the U.S., multiple digital rights experts told Motherboard.

The bill could have implications not just for social networks, but potentially security tools such as virtual private networks (VPNs) that consumers use to encrypt and route their traffic, one said. Although the intention of the bill is to target apps or services that pose a threat to national security, these critics worry it may have much wider implications for the First Amendment.

“The RESTRICT Act is a concerning distraction with insanely broad language that raises serious human and civil rights concerns,“ Willmary Escoto, U.S. policy analyst for digital rights organization Access Now told Motherboard in an emailed statement.

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The Restricting the Emergence of Security Threats that Risk Information and Communications Technology (RESTRICT) Act is led by Senators Mark Warner (D-VA) and John Thune (R-SD). The pair introduced the bill earlier this month, which is deliberately not limited to just TikTok.

Under the RESTRICT Act, the Department of Commerce would identify information and communications technology products that a foreign adversary has any interest in, or poses an unacceptable risk to national security, the announcement reads. The bill only applies to technology linked to a “foreign adversary.” Those countries include China (as well as Hong Kong); Cuba; Iran; North Korea; Russia, and Venezuela.

The bill’s language includes vague terms such as “desktop applications,” “mobile applications,” “gaming applications,” “payment applications,” and “web-based applications.” It also targets applicable software that has more than 1 million users in the U.S.

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Escoto from Access Now added, “As written, the broad language in the RESTRICT Act could criminalize the use of a VPN, significantly impacting access to security tools and other applications that vulnerable people rely on for privacy and security.”

“Many individuals and organizations, including journalists, activists, and human rights defenders, use VPNs to protect their online activity from surveillance and censorship. The RESTRICT Act would expose these groups to monitoring and repression, which could have a chilling effect on free speech and expression,” Escoto wrote.

(Many VPN companies engage in misleading marketing practices which exaggerate their importance and alleged security benefits. Used correctly, and with a provider that does not introduce its own issues such as logging users’ traffic, VPNs can be a useful tool for digital security).

The RESTRICT Act could target far more than just TikTok, due to the fact that the law is written broadly, and VPNs could be targeted.