New Act Declared A “Patriot Act” For America

The Restrict Act, proposed by Democrat Senator Mark Warner of Virginia and Republican Senator Tom Thune of South Dakota, is meant to prevent or disrupt financial transactions and assets connected to foreign enemies that are deemed a threat to national security. However, the law seems to be merely an expansion of the Patriot Act  enacted during the George W. Bush administration.

Reports show Warner created the Restrict Act to quickly remove tech firms suspected of colluding with foreign states and spies from shops and app stores whenever the threat becomes too great.

Michael Krieger exposed Warner in 2018, and the Twitter Files identified him as a proponent of weaponizing Big Tech. 

If the Restrict Act were to become law, the government would be granted unprecedented authority to repress expression. This seems to have been the motivation for the law, which was written by someone with a long record of opposing the First Amendment.

China, Iran, North Korea, Russia, Cuba, and Venezuela are all named as negative actors in the bill. TikTok is not specifically mentioned in the Restrict Act, which looks to be a Trojan Horse or justification to eradicate even more of the fundamental liberties of Americans.

If signed into law, SB686 would authorize the blocking of several sites hosted in the United States.

The Last Refuge has issued a report warning of the dangers posed by the Restrict Act. It would have far-reaching effects on the vast majority of websites in the United States due to the widespread usage of foreign-made plug-ins, widgets, and other forms of software.

According to the report, the Director of National Intelligence may order a website to shut down or face criminal charges if it uses any foreign material or software that may be involved in platform communication that the U.S. Government deems as against their interests.

If SB686 is passed,  the Department of National Intelligence, the Department of Commerce, and the Department of Homeland Security would have the authority to censor the content you enjoy.