Re: Congress is using the TikTok ban as a mask. Here’s what they’re really doing:

Friend, the RESTRICT Act is a threat to your personal freedoms and security. [Sign the petition to Congress: Vote NO on The RESTRICT Act.]( [SIGN AND SEND THE PETITION]( Masked as a TikTok ban, the RESTRICT Act is moving through Congress and [would]( allow the Department of Commerce to impose “mitigation measures” on what Americans have access to on the internet without any restriction on what those measures might be. The bill also grants the executive branch the power to broadly punish any individual who “evades” these vaguely defined “mitigation measures,” and could potentially result in the criminalization of common practices like the use of a VPN, or the use of an app that was lawfully downloaded somewhere else. The broad language in the RESTRICT Act will have a chilling effect on the content we will be allowed to consume on the internet, the safety of journalists to access and report on vital information, and our first amendment rights. The RESTRICT Act is a modern ban on the Internet. [Sign the petition to join us in firmly opposing the RESTRICT Act.]( [SIGN AND SEND THE PETITION]( Keep Fighting, Jayleen Alvarado, Daily Kos P.S. You can find an earlier email below: --------------------------------------------------------------- Friend, you've likely never heard of the legislation behind the proposed TikTok ban- but you absolutely should know and understand it. [Sign the petition to Congress: Vote NO on The RESTRICT Act.]( [SIGN THE PETITION]( The RESTRICT Act, introduced by Democratic Senator Mark Warner and Republican Senator John Thune, would give the White House, through the Commerce Department, the ability to criminalize entire communications platforms. This would allow the executive branch to control what apps and technologies Americans have access to while limiting our ability to challenge those actions in court. Experts agree the legislation would [violate]( our First Amendment rights without actually protecting American consumers. And those who violate The RESTRICT Act by, for example, trying to circumvent a TikTok ban, could end up with civil and criminal penalties. [Sign the petition to Congress: Vote NO on The RESTRICT Act.]( [SIGN THE PETITION]( Friend, this overreach of executive power is horrifying and is exactly what Trump wanted when he tried to ban TikTok in 2020. Now, it’s being repackaged to the American people as a ban on a foreign influence (as TikTok is Chinese-owned), at a time when xenophobic anti-China rhetoric is at an all-time high. But it is so much more than that and deliberately not limited to just TikTok. The broad language used in the RESTRICT Act will fundamentally change the internet and have serious human and civil rights implications. President Biden has already said he would sign off on the RESTRICT Act if it lands on his desk. The time to act is now. Members of Congress must not only vote down any measure to pass the RESTRICT Act, but they must also condemn the act in its entirety for what it is: a ban on a free internet, free speech, and American civil liberties. [Sign the petition to Congress: Vote NO on The RESTRICT Act.]( [SIGN THE PETITION]( Keep fighting, Jayleen Alvarado, Daily Kos Daily Kos needs you now more than ever We are falling behind our projections for two of our three major revenue streams: advertising and list building. This means that at this moment, we need to rely more and more on donations from the Daily Kos community to make ends meet. Can you chip in $5 right now to help Daily Kos keep fighting? [Donate $5]( If you wish to donate by mail instead, please send a check to Daily Kos, PO Box 70036, Oakland, CA, 94612. Contributions to Daily Kos are not tax deductible. Sent via [ActionNetwork.org](. To update your email address, change your name or address, or to stop receiving emails from Daily Kos, please [click here](.