Posted on 03/30/2023 12:36:21 AM PDT by RandFan
WASHINGTON, March 29 (Reuters) - U.S. Republican Senator Rand Paul on Wednesday blocked a bid to fast-track a ban of popular Chinese-owned social media app TikTok, which more than 150 million Americans use, citing concerns about free speech and uneven treatment of social media companies.
"I think we should beware of those who use fear to coax Americans to relinquish our liberties," Paul said on the Senate floor. "Every accusation of data gathering that has been attributed to TikTok could also be attributed to domestic big tech companies."
Republican Senator Josh Hawley had sought unanimous consent for a TikTok ban bill. "It protects the American people and it sends a message to Communist China that you cannot buy us," Hawley said, adding the app is spying on Americans.
"If Republicans want to continuously lose elections for a generation they should pass this bill to ban TikTok -- a social media app used by 150 million people, primarily young Americans," Paul said on the Senate floor. "Do we really want to emulate Chinese speech bans?... We're going to be just like China and ban speech we're afraid of?"
Senators Mark Warner, a Democrat, and John Thune, a Republican, have proposed the RESTRICT Act, which now has 22 Senate cosponsors, to give the Commerce Department power to impose restrictions up to and including banning TikTok and other technologies that pose national security risks. It would apply to foreign technologies from China, Russia, North Korea, Iran, Venezuela and Cuba.
Paul said the bill "would basically be a limitless authority for the president to ban speech."
(Excerpt) Read more at reuters.com ...
Cross-reference:
https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/4141891/posts
and
https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/senate-bill/686/text?s=1&r=15
Spy Tok seems the least of our worries. Feels like a “Look - a squirrel!!” distraction to me.
The communists Chinese own him.
It certainly seems that way.
The “RESTRICT ACT” is much more than a “Tik-Tok” ban....(Tik-Tok is not even mentioned)...see my post #2.
I’ll tell you what.
From now on, every bill will be called the SAVE THE CHILDREN ACT.
Then each bill will be full of horrific totalitarian nightmares that subject regular americans to criminal prosecution.
Then since every american is now a law-breaker, the government (which will be leftist) can then selectively prosecute who they want.
If Jonty30 or minnesota_bound complain about any of these bills, we can all say they HATE CHILDREN, since the bill is clearly titled the save the children act.
Likewise this act claims to be all about banning tik tok.
Some people are stupid enough to think that anyone who hesitates about the fine print of this bill, must therefore be a paid chinese agent or bribed by tik tok.
It is hard to believe that there are freepers this stupid, but here it is
I will tell you what.
If you really believe this, you must from now on advocate against closing the border and ending all tariffs. If all 7.5 billion people want to come to America, you must fight for that. Otherwise you don’t believe your own position on being an absolutist on libertarian beliefs.
I am a libertarian nationalist. I understand that there are limits to my beliefs. Within America, I am a big believer in libertarianism. However, towards the world I am also a big believer in walls.
There is enough evidence to suggest that Tik Tok gathers informatio from the phones of users and sends that information to the Chinese government to gather informnation about America and Americans, and the world for that matter, to use as they wish.
While you criticize me about my limits on libertarianism, I can only state in my defense that some Freepers have to lose their country before they come to appreciate why some protections are necessary.
Considering the absolute garbage placed in the bill like a rumored 10 years in prison if you use a vpn it might be a good thing to block this until they get serious about it and knock off the bs games.
Amen, lets not get too hasty giving up anything to our whacked out govt. We don't need or want them governing every facet of our lives. I don't do Tik Tok, but he's right when he says that American tech companies are doing things to us that are just as bad or even worse than Tik Toc.
Is anyone forcing them to use Tik Tok?
What next, adults can’t decide for themselves if they want to smoke or not? I don’t smoke but it’s none of my business or the governments.
Second, adults can decide if their kids will or will not use Tik Tok.
Third, come back with a bill then that doesn’t have the poison pills this bill has if if you must ban Tik Tok.
So many Americans can’t jettison that way of thinking.
It reminds me of people who said that failure to support Bush’s invasion of Iraq meant that person supported Saddam.
I agree with you about the poison pills, but why are you interested in assisting China in information gathering to use against America at some point?
Do you need to see America lost, because you thought it wasn’t worth protecting?
If this was just an app, I might agree with you, but it is more than apl. It is an intelligence gathering app forbthe Chinese government.
For larger image:
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FsKCfVKWAAA7q-z?format=jpg&name=large
For larger images:
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FsKCfsbXwAAA9Mq?format=jpg&name=medium
or:
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FsKCfsbXwAAA9Mq?format=jpg&name=large
For larger image:
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FsKCgCkXoAAQPBu?format=jpg&name=large
His comments are specious and irrational.
Something not right with Paul.
Your response shows you completely missed the point.
Do you understand that congress often puts horrific things in the fine details of a bill?
It is possible to have a bill that does something most everyone agrees with, yet the fine print does truly horrific things that must be stopped.
Let me ask you a question.
If there was a bill that banned tik tok, but also bankrupted the treasury and subjected most americans to criminal prosecution, would you support it?
Would you call anyone who was against it a chinese agent?
No, that would be stupid right?
Well, have you read the bill in its entirety?
Do you KNOW that there aren’t any provisions in this bill that are horrific? DO you KNOW that Rand paul has no legitimate concerns?
No you don’t.
So why do you reflexively call Rand Paul a chinese agent?
Why are you automatically in favor of it just because the main stated purpose is something you support?
The point is once you open this gate ,the Government can shut down everything at any time they want. Rand stopping the flood gate from destroying our freedoms.
BINGO
My position is that Tik Tok needs to be banned. The bill to propose should have been a clean bill and a simple yes or no vote.
It shows just how compromised American politicians are when they propose taking your rights away if Tik Tok gets banned or keep Tik Tok and create the conditions to make US a vassal state of China. This is what has happened here.
I’m not going to read a 1,000 page bill just to find that one paragraph that made the banning of Tik Tok impossible, because it results in a subjugated America. Not banning Tik Tok could lead to a subjugated America anyway.
The headline is deceptive, because it gives the impression that Rand Paul was against banning Tik Tok. If it was made more clear that Rand Paul was against what was in the bill and not against banning Tik Tok, I wouldn’t have asked that question.
Then, to help protect America’s rights and freedoms, put all your personal information and your family’s information into an envelope and mail it to Beijing.
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