The RESTRICT Act Is a Threat to the Digital Freedom of US Citizens

Posted on Apr 3, 2023 by Kristin Hassel

A new bill in the US Congress could ultimately change internet freedom as Americans know it. The RESTRICT Act would allow the government to ban foreign apps and websites posing “actual” or “potential threat” to “national security”, especially if they originate from countries on the foreign adversary list. 

On these grounds, the US government could ban apps entirely and/or severely restrict how they can be used by individuals. Ultimately, the power to choose which apps you use, and how, would lie in the hands of the US authorities.

Private Internet Access strongly opposes any attempts to restrict the digital freedom and privacy of US citizens, and we remain committed to maintaining the privacy of our customers.

Read on to learn more about the RESTRICT Act, how it could impact your online freedom, and why you should care.

What Is the RESTRICT Act (S.686)?

The Restricting the Emergence of Security Threats that Risk Information and Communications Technology or RESTRICT Act (S.686 2023-2024) was first introduced in the Senate on March 7 and is currently under consideration by Congress.. The stated aim of the legislation is to create a proactive solution to monitoring and tackling invasive foreign technologies before their popularity makes it difficult to take action. 

The RESTRICT bill garnered attention due to growing concern about the potential for apps like TikTok to spy on American citizens. Debate has centered around how the Chinese government can ask TikTok to hand over any sensitive data it’s collected about US citizens. Under the RESTRICT Act, the US government could stop apps like TikTok from being able to collect data by banning them entirely.

Per the RESTRICT Act, the US Department of Commerce will be responsible for reviewing technology from countries on a ‘foreign adversaries’ list. Technologies and services from China, Iran, North Korea, Venezuela, Russia, and Cuba are explicitly mentioned as posing a significant risk, which is also why they are on the ‘foreign adversaries’ list.

Once a potential threat is identified, the Secretary of Commerce can take steps to ban or restrict the use of said technology and services within the US. Specifically, the app would need to fall within one of five categories to warrant restriction or limitations. 

5 Categories of Undue or Unacceptable Risk Under the RESTRICT Act


    🚫 Sabotage or subversion of IT communications products and services.
    🚫 Catastrophic effects on US critical infrastructure and digital economy security or resilience.
    🚫 Interfering in, altering results or reported results of US federal elections.
    🚫 Coercive or criminal activities undermining the democratic processes and institutions or steer policy and regulatory decisions in favor of foreign adversaries.
    🚫 Undue or unacceptable safety risk to US national security or persons.

RESTRICT gives more detail regarding each risk category, and more options for responses to potential ICT threats than the ANTI-SOCIAL CCP Act. For instance, the RESTRICT bill gives the Secretary of Commerce 180 days for review, and then an additional 180 days to decide whether the technologies or transactions fall under one of these five categories. 

Actions can range from a temporary restriction of the service to more substantial measures, like a complete ban on the technology or service. It also allows the Secretary of Commerce to work with the National Intelligence Director to declassify information about the reason for a specific decision, which means that arguments for specific decisions might not be public by default.

While the RESTRICT Act clearly has some positives, it’s not without issues. In particular, many US citizens have raised concerns about the invasion and control of internet freedom. Some feel it would give the government too much power to ban apps that many rely on for communications or for personal use.

How Will the RESTRICT Act Impact US Citizens?

Senator Mark Warner claims the legislation is meant to directly impact companies considered a systematic threat to national security, rather than everyday users. But make no mistake, it will impact the services you have access to. What’s more, the ripple effect of the Act could be devastating to your right to digital privacy. 

RESTRICT may be one of the more comprehensive and cohesive bills of its kind, but the terminology is still far too broad. In the fourth category, the final section about steering policy and regulatory decisions in favor of foreign governments is vague at best. It could easily be misinterpreted or, worse, be used to justify anything considered in opposition to “US policy” and “regulatory decisions”. 

The lack of concrete rules regarding US citizens’ digital privacy during app review is also troubling. App monitoring as covered under the RESTRICT Act could lead to large-scale surveillance of US citizens’ online activity — which, let’s face it, is already at an all-time high. The legislation also fails to adequately address content manipulation, which is a primary reason why so many of these apps and services are an issue in the first place.

Worryingly, an online service only needs to have data on 1 million US citizens before it’s assessed as a potential national security risk. This threshold is minuscule considering 330+ million people live in America. For context, it’s less than 1% of the US population.

PIA’s Stance on the RESTRICT Act

We strongly believe the government should worry less about restricting access to technologies and instead work towards creating and strengthening laws to protect citizens’ online privacy and data security.

Private Internet Access is a long-time advocate of digital freedom, and protecting people from intrusive digital surveillance and censorship is in our DNA. The RESTRICT Act would impose unacceptable restrictions on citizens’ digital freedom and it raises serious questions over how far the government is willing to compromise the privacy rights of its citizens:

Prohibiting the use of certain technologies or social media sites bleakly opposes the vision of an open and free digital world and raises serious concerns about the future of digital freedom in the US.

PIA spokesperson

As a US-based VPN provider trusted worldwide, we remain committed to our goal of improving the digital privacy and online freedom of our customers

PIA has VPN servers across the world including at least one in every US state, a court-proven No Logs policy, and highly secure encryption. Encrypted connections help us ensure your personal information, data, and online activities (including the services you use) are safe from prying eyes. 

We built our infrastructure purposely to prevent the collection and storage of data, with a RAM-only server network. Even temporary session files containing no personal information are wiped when servers reboot.

Make Your Voice Heard

Control over digital content and technology, as dictated in the RESTRICT Act, directly opposes PIA’s core mission of providing secure, unrestricted access to the internet globally.

The RESTRICT Act has far-reaching and potentially devastating implications concerning the future of online privacy and internet freedom in the US. Once the government starts dictating which apps we can access, what sites we can view, and what constitutes sympathy toward American adversaries, it’s a slippery slope. This may pave the way to the control of media and online content, and demolish freedom of speech and expression as we know it, both of which are currently guaranteed by the First Amendment.

It’s crucial to make your voice heard. Contact local lawmakers on state and federal levels, and express your concerns. In the meantime, use a VPN to secure your devices and hide your online activity. At PIA, we allow users to boost their online privacy and security, but we can’t replace your unique voice.