There are two bills moving through Congress that aim to ban TikTok, although both actually end up doing a lot more than targeting the Chinese-owned popular social media company. Before we give the federal government the rights to regulate and restrict where and what can be posted on social media, I thought it might be a good idea to get a comparison of the two acts as I'm exploring AI, and I asked Google's Bard AI engine to do a comparison.
Here it is.
|
Principle |
RESTRICT Act |
DATA Act |
|
give the federal government the power to block free speech |
The RESTRICT Act would allow the government to ban or restrict the use of certain ICT products and services that pose a threat to national security. This could include social media platforms, messaging apps, and other online services. |
The DATA Act would not give the government the same authority to ban or restrict ICT products and services, but it would require companies to provide notice to the government before transferring personal data to a foreign adversary. This could give the government the ability to block or restrict the transfer of data that it believes poses a threat to national security. |
|
Identify and mitigate foreign threats to the United States information and communications technology (ICT) supply chain. |
The RESTRICT Act would establish a risk-based process directing the Department of Commerce to identify and mitigate foreign threats to the United States ICT supply chain. The Department of Commerce would be required to develop a list of foreign adversaries that pose a threat to the United States ICT supply chain and to take steps to mitigate those threats. |
The DATA Act would also require the Department of Commerce to develop a list of foreign adversaries, but it would not require the Department to take any specific steps to mitigate those threats. |
|
Require companies to provide notice to the government before transferring personal data to a foreign adversary. |
The RESTRICT Act would require companies to provide notice to the government before transferring personal data to a foreign adversary. The government would then have 30 days to review the transfer and take action to block it if it believes that the transfer poses a threat to national security. |
The DATA Act would not require companies to provide notice to the government before transferring personal data to a foreign adversary. |
|
Give the government the authority to ban or restrict the use of certain ICT products and services. |
The RESTRICT Act would give the government the authority to ban or restrict the use of certain ICT products and services that pose a threat to national security. The government would be required to follow a specific process before banning or restricting a product or service, but it would have the final say on whether or not to take action. |
The DATA Act would not give the government the authority to ban or restrict the use of certain ICT products and services. |
|
Enforcement powers. |
The RESTRICT Act would give the government a number of enforcement powers, including the ability to issue fines, seize property, and prosecute individuals. |
The DATA Act would not give the government the same level of enforcement powers. |
|
Ability to shut down the company in the US. |
The RESTRICT Act would give the government the ability to shut down a company in the United States if it poses a threat to national security. |
The DATA Act would not give the government the same ability to shut down a company. |
Both bills have been criticized by civil liberties groups, who argue that they give the government too much power to censor speech. The RESTRICT Act has also been criticized by tech companies, who argue that it would make it difficult for them to do business in the United States.
The RESTRICT Act and the DATA Act are similar in some ways, but they also have some important differences. The RESTRICT Act would give the government more authority to identify and mitigate foreign threats to the United States ICT supply chain, and it would also give the government more enforcement powers. The DATA Act would not give the government the same level of authority or enforcement powers.