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The Restrict Act

According to an article, the Restrict Act is a risk-based process that is still going on today regarding the changing of Americans' privacy and foreign threats to information that countries want to take from us. This act only will apply to companies such as Chinese and Russian-owned security. In early March of this year, Senator Mark Warner was in the process of banning apps like TikTok, which is a Chinese- based company that is taking user data information and giving it to the Chinese government. They are doing this because they want to be the world's superpower by slowly dominating the U.S. and its shared power. He said, “The Restrict Act is focused on foreign corporations, not on users. The 1st Amendment protects Americans’ right to share and receive information – and this bill doesn’t alter that,” Warner tweeted. He wants to make sure that Americans know that their rights aren't being taken away, they can still be able to send information to each other. 

In terms of the positive aspects of this Act, once Congress bans TikTok or other applications that are an issue to citizens, it will protect Americans' privacy by banning the most popular apps that we use today. Senator Baldwin said, “We need to protect Americans’ data and keep our country safe against today's and tomorrow’s threats. While many of these foreign-owned technology products and social media platforms like TikTok are extremely popular, we also know these products can pose a grave danger to users and threaten our national security.” He is right because we as a society must ensure that our citizens are safe by putting their information out there to the world. Although it may be a struggle to actually ban a very popular social media platform, if that is the only way to save Americans’ privacy, that may have to be a solution. 

    This act is more in effect to the youth because if this act is passed soon, TikTok will not be accessible to the youth anymore. Many kids and teenagers are addicted to that platform which can be a very shocking thing to take away from them. Going forward, although this is an ongoing situation for the past few years, it may help to ban platforms that are taking away people's rights and privacy. By solving this, people will feel safer in a society where their information is not being shared and given to foreign corporations. 

    This Act is not only in effect to TikTok but the overall privacy and security issue for Americans. This has been an ongoing struggle in our society that we simply cannot get under control. Any technology that we use from the government is considered a "foreign adversary". Those countries include China, Cuba, Iran, Russia, and more. Therefore, it will help the consolidate where we get our technology from and to contain our use. 

    If passed, the Restrict Act would allow the Secretary of Commerce board to take measures into their own hands and deal with the identified risks and enforce criminal penalties to individuals or corporations that are caught taking away people's privacy.