The DATA Act and RESTRICT Act

Lawfare comments on Two New Bills the DATA Act and RESTRICT Act

According to several media reports, the Biden administration has demanded that ByteDance sell TikTok to a U.S. owner or have TikTok face a complete ban on its U.S. operations. This comes right before TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew will testify on March 23 to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce. Meanwhile, a flurry of legislation around TikTok and non-U.S. technology companies, products, and services adds to the saga around the app.

On Feb. 24, Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas) introduced the Deterring America's Technological Adversaries (DATA) Act, which would provide the president with more authorities to block transactions associated with the import or export of Americans' "sensitive data" where there are national security risks. The bill quoted previous, public comments from FBI Director Christopher Wray, Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines, and CIA Director Bill Burns that they believe TikTok presents national security risks to the United States.