(Fargo, ND) — North Dakota Senators John Hoeven and Kevin Cramer are not currently on the same page when it comes to the RESTRICT Act.
The legislation is cosponsored by Cramer
Under its full name, the legislation is called the “Restricting the Emergence of Security Threats that Risk Information and Communications Technology Act”.
The bill, as its currently written, would “authorize the Secretary of Commerce to review and prohibit certain transactions between persons in the United States and foreign adversaries, and for other purposes.”
Several media reports suggest the legislation would be used to ban TikTok.
However, other media suggest the bill could do much more.
The Electronic Frontier Foundation describes the bill as a vague and “dangerous substitute for comprehensive data privacy legislation”.
The Foundation for Individual Rights in Education says the act’s “vague and overbroad language is threat to a free and open Internet”.
WDAY News First asked both Senators to comment on the legislation.
“I was an original cosponsor of the RESTRICT Act because digital security is national security. Just like we should diligently review foreign purchases of strategically-located U.S. lands, we ought to scrutinize the technologies we use every day. Our bill would establish a process for addressing foreign technological threats and enhance transparency mechanisms to improve public awareness of data privacy risks,” said Senator Cramer.
“We have not yet reviewed the RESTRICT Act, and our understanding is that it’s in the Senate Commerce Committee now. In regard to China, we need to stop them from spying on Americans and stealing their data. We should push back on China without infringing on the constitutional rights of Americans,” said Senator Hoeven.
The bill is also backed by South Dakota Senator John Thune.
WDAY News First will continue to follow this developing story.
