There is a bill in congress that is commonly referred to as purporting to Ban Tik Tok and play on prejudices against that app. However, it would better be referred to as the Restrict Everything Act and gives the authority for unelected bureaucrats to declare enemies, restrict persons and organizations, implement draconian enforcement, and avoid any attempts by the judiciary and public elected officials to exercise oversight. Everyone from NBC to the Verge and Daily Mail are talking about it. In the midst of that there will be a lot of conflicting messages and accusations of “conspiracy theories” [for more see: https://sabersedge.online/dont-be-fooled-about-conspiracy-theories ] but don’t be fooled. I posted the actual bill at the end of this article so you can see for yourself. Let’s look at some of the issues from the bill itself.
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Welcome Freedom Troopers and other readers. I usually talk about socio-political trends and leave news to other sites, as long as I have limited resources and time to work on SabersEdge I need to focus my efforts. But this bill to “ban Tik Tok” is much more than it appears. It goes far beyond the ability to ban Tik Tok and gives un-elected government officials the ability to determine enemies of the state and the broad ability to do what they want about them. The Gestapo and KGB had such abilities but no organization or agency in a free country should. In my opinion this is part of an ongoing subversion for those who have been deluded to undermine our liberties. Ironically, this bill (which purports to fight subversion and threats to undermine our government,) is itself a threat to the very liberties it claims to fight. [See more about that here: https://sabersedge.online/active-measures-the-subversion-of-the-good ]
It is telling that so many people in government today no longer see a problem with such government powers. Further, this bill has provisions to frustrate any attempt by congress, judiciary, or civil organizations to ask what they are doing to whom when, or why. This is a power far beyond what any organization in a free state should EVER possess. And please note that I say “ever” when I regularly say that always and never are the only statements that are always wrong. Except that, so far in history, any state that has had such broad powers will always eventually misuse them.
The “Secretary” and any concerned agency of the government “is authorized to and shall take action to identify, deter, disrupt, prevent, prohibit, investigate, or otherwise mitigate, including by negotiating, entering into, or imposing, and enforcing any mitigation measure to address any risk arising from any covered transaction by any person, or concerning any property, subject to the jurisdiction of the United States that the Secretary determines—”
Here are some key concepts that can get lost in the legalese if you aren’t used to dealing with government double-speak the government can impose or enforce:
“ANY mitigation measure” from “ANY covered transaction by ANY person or with respect to ANY property” they determine to be involved.
This bill allows the government to regulate “INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATIONS TECHNOLOGY PRODUCTS OR SERVICES.” [further capitalization in the original.] This is as broad as it sounds but, in case there is any doubt, it goes on to define these as meaning “any hardware, software, or other product or service primarily intended to fulfill or enable the function of information or data processing, storage, retrieval, or communication by electronic means, including transmission, storage, and display.”
Is that broad enough for you? No, well try this as the bill continues “ADDRESSING INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATIONS TECHNOLOGY PRODUCTS AND SERVICES HOLDINGS THAT POSE UNDUE OR UNACCEPTABLE RISK.” In fact the bill gives agencies the ability to investigate anyone or anything that comes under their radar to determine if any of their finances, activities, or actions real or electronic MIGHT need to be looked at.
These powers and this broad authority become even more relevant when you understand the government’s counterintelligence personnel tend to believe that everyone is guilty, it is just a matter of investigating long enough to find out what they are guilty of.
How could I possibly know that? Because I was an agent and that’s what I was taught. An enemy of the country doesn’t have to be brought down as a spy, other investigations and offenses can be used to “neutralize” the person’s activities. Sometimes you can destroy a person by simply “bungling” the investigation and having it become public. That has the advantage of the person never getting a “day in court” so that they might clear their name. Without being cleared they will always have that suspicion over their head and their professional career could be ruined. One of the reasons I left that job was because of the misuse of power and corruption in government. Of course, back then we were still required to have “probable cause” but the Patriot Act fixed that for government agencies. Now they just have to suspect foreign government or terrorist connections and the Bill of Rights goes out the window. Oh, they make all sorts of noises to obfuscate that with anyone who doesn’t understand their doublespeak but that is the gist of it. I wish this was the only threat to liberty we faced but they keep reappearing with innocuous names and, if we don’t find some way to stop it and neutralize our enemies sooner or later enough will get through that our liberty will be gone. This is a war of legislation, propaganda, and language that we must win. [See also: https://sabersedge.online/wake-up-america-act-today-or-be-slaves-tomorrow ]
Worse this bill gives “the Secretary” UNREVIEWABLE DISCRETION.
What does that mean? That means that no-one can question what they do to enact or enforce this bill or in their determination of who or what poses an “unacceptable risk.”
IN their investigations they give special attention (or “priority”) to information and communications technology areas “software, hardware, or any other product or service integral to telecommunications products and services, including— wireless local area networks; mobile networks; satellite payloads; satellite operations and control; cable access points; wireline access points; core networking systems; long-, short-, and back-haul networks; edge computer platforms; any software, hardware, or any other product or service integral to data hosting or computing service that uses, processes, or retains, or is expected to use, process, or retain, sensitive personal data” … “including— internet hosting services; cloud-based or distributed computing and data storage; machine learning, predictive analytics, and data science products and services, including those involving the provision of services to assist a party utilize, manage, or maintain open-source software; managed services; and content delivery services; internet- or network-enabled sensors, webcams, end-point surveillance or monitoring devices, modems and home networking devices” … “unmanned vehicles, including drones and other aerials systems, autonomous or semi-autonomous vehicles, or any other product or service integral to the provision, maintenance, or management of such products or services; software designed or used primarily for connecting with and communicating via the internet” … “including— desktop applications; mobile applications; gaming applications; payment applications; or web-based applications; or information and communications technology products and services integral to— artificial intelligence and machine learning; quantum key distribution; quantum communications; quantum computing; post-quantum cryptography; autonomous systems; advanced robotics; biotechnology; synthetic biology; computational biology; and e-commerce technology and services, including any electronic techniques for accomplishing business tranactions, online retail, internet-enabled logistics, internet-enabled payment technology, and online marketplaces.”
Did you follow all that or did your mind turn off reading all that? Legalese does that if you are not used to reading it. Unfortunately, sometimes I suspect our laws and regulations are written so that you need to hire a lawyer or be a government agent to understand it.
So, no doubt you noticed the ability to regulate “gaming applications” internet connections, drones, semi-automonomous vehicles, and so much more.
This bill does not “Ban Tik Tok” as the media is babbling. It gives the government the ability to control or regulate EVERYTHING in a modern technological society and what is just as bad it is unreviewable which means that we cannot ask questions or review what they are doing.
In case we are unclear on that it has a whole section that specifies that any actions under this act are exempt from oversight, fact-finding, or attempts by the public to access information through FOIA acts or other inquiries unless its activities are proven to be “unconstitutional.”
My immediate question is how can anyone EVER determine that their actions are unconstitutional if we cannot request information about their actions and there is no oversight? Even the President is restricted from too much interference in their activities. This puts “the Secretary” on a par with the Communist party leader Xin Xiaoping in his or her ability to do whatever they or want as long as they can say with a straight face that they are acting “in defense of the government of the United States.” I find that relevant. The “government” even if such government becomes a military dictatorship.
There is so much more that is devastating to a free society in this bill and to examine its faults and ramifications completely would require a thorough report of dozens of pages. That is beyond our scope here. But contact your representatives and tell your family and friends that this bill potentially gives the government control of anything online. While some will disagree and say there are some safeguards with the lack of oversight and its “unreviewable” nature how can anyone ever determine if they are obeying those safeguards?
Don’t be confused when people say that this bill only affects those who have contact with “enemies” of the United States (a few of them are listed including Communist China, the Russian Federation, North Korea, Venezuela, and others,) including nations that most would have no problem with but then goes on to say that they can include any enemy which the Secretary and NIS decide to be our enemy. Now, as I read it aiding enemies of the United States is treason. That is not something I disagree with, in fact, I think we have traitors who no one is bothering to prosecute today. However, enemies are supposed to be determined by the United States Congress and not by some unelected government official who may very well be acting according to partisan political agendas. That is why so much power was given to congress so that partisan political agendas would be canceled out in debate and reason and more sensible heads would rule. This act bypasses that and gives the power to one man or woman who is appointed and not elected. In other words, it gives it to someone immune to any control, oversight, or transparency by “we the people” or our elected representatives. This becomes more clear as you read on in the bill and I will discuss more at the end of this blog.
So, does that mean just foreign government influence? No, it includes any group they determine to be a threat:
“A firm. A government, government agency, government department, or government com mission. A labor union. A fraternal or social organization. A partnership. A trust. A joint venture. A corporation.”… “A group, subgroup, or other association or organization whether or not organized for profit.”
Any person or organization that is a resident of an “enemy” nation or even any business or organization “whether organized for profit or not-for-profit” that is owned or influenced by ownership by any person or organization who is believed to have military, government, or economic connections in an enemy country whose contributions or ownership or holdings of 10% or more of its operating costs or individual who has contact or influence from such.
In other words any person, company, or other organization with the proper number of investors or owners, or influence who come from any country that the “Secretary” determines to be an enemy now or in the future. That is a pretty broad net but worse, enemies could just be “declared” by an unelected government official. [For why this is a problem see: https://sabersedge.online/dhs-is-the-ministry-of-truth ]
As if all this was not enough, one of the subversive actions specifically listed was questioning US elections and their validity. Not just the 2020 election but ANY election. More importantly, it doesn’t say questioning any election without evidence makes it a crime to question any election or election procedure whether you have evidence that it was rigged or not. In other words, according to this bill, you are an enemy of the United States if you have complete data that someone or some organization has subverted our elections and elected a foreign agent in a national election and actually tell someone about it. So, under this act, a whistleblower with information about election corruption would become a criminal. With this bill, a government or even a corrupt “Secretary” could undermine our republic in ways that could never be repaired destroying all opposition or even those who might question them.
We have already gone longer than I like and this has been information dense and it only scratches the surface of the problems in this bill. If it passes it will not just ban Tik Tok it will ban freedom by giving powers to agencies that We The People and our representatives have no control over. You cannot assume your congressional representative or senator will oppose it. Too many politicians today never read the bills they vote on. In their ignorance, they could easily vote for this bill believing that they are “only banning Tik Tok.” But don’t take my word for it you can see and read the actual bill here: https://www.warner.senate.gov/public/_cache/files/3/f/3f2eaae6-09ad-49e1-b254-46289cf20cca/843D73B1823EA0D4122B4365262410D6.restrict-act-final-text.pdf
If I wanted to be a dictator of the United States I would eagerly advocate for this bill to pass. Anyone who believes in freedom must oppose it at all hazards. [ For more look at: https://sabersedge.online/what-about-a-national-divorce ]
