Politicians seek to end free speech on the internet and make it punishable as a civil and/or criminal offence.

H/t Emily

“The RESTRICT Act, introduced by senators from both major parties will give the executive branch the power to criminalize the use of social media platforms it opposes, violating the First Amendment in several ways.”

Passing of the Restrict Act would kill discussion of any topic on any platform that was outside the “Overton Window” of political dogma and propaganda.

“The Overton window is the range of policies politically acceptable to the mainstream population at a given time. It is also known as the window of discourse.”

That definition would be redefined in this Act as “policies politically acceptable to a corrupt political class at any given time”.

The use of VPN’s would also be rendered useless.

I doubt that people like me would be able to find out key facts or volunteer opinions to help tease out nuances that might improve the quality of debate and outcomes.

I doubt that SubStack or many, if any, other independent content aggregator platforms would survive such an Act. Even if they did, their sources would be massively curtailed, turning them from “idea oases” to “idea deserts”.

This is a feature of decaying and corrupt civilizations – the jackboot to silence those that expose the decay and corruption and seek to end debate and progress that highlights shortcomings and bad law.

“The broad language used in the RESTRICT Act will fundamentally change the internet and have serious human and civil rights implications.”

“Members of both major parties are using national security rhetoric to enact a sweeping legislation that would give the executive branch the power to criminalize the use of social media platforms it opposes.”

Who is sponsoring this outrage? It is bipartisan – from the petition:

“The RESTRICT Act, introduced by Democratic Senator Mark Warner and Republican Senator John Thune, would give the White House, through the Commerce Department, the ability to criminalize entire communications platforms, allowing the executive branch to control what apps and technologies Americans have access to while limiting our ability to challenge those actions in court. Experts agree the legislation would violate our First Amendment rights without actually protecting American consumers.”

Biden says he would sign the Act if it passes with strong bipartisan support.

Here are three key points contained in the Act:

“First, this legislation will silence dissenting voices and limit the ability of people to express themselves online. The government should not have the power to decide what platforms are permissible or what ideas are acceptable.

Second, the broad language used in the bill means that it would impact not just TikTok, but other social media platforms as well. This would limit the ability of Americans to access information and to communicate with one another, violating their right to freedom of the press and peaceful assembly.

Third, it would lead to a chilling effect on freedom of speech by limiting the diversity of ideas and viewpoints on the internet, which is a space that has traditionally been a platform for open and robust discussion.”

“Criminalizing the use of VPNs would expose journalists to monitoring and other harmful penalties, putting their safety and the safety of their sources at risk.

This means that the RESTRICT Act could lead to a chilling effect on the freedom of the press more broadly by criminalizing investigative reporting and discouraging journalists from reporting on sensitive topics.”

There is a petition opposing the Act here, but contacting representatives via phone, email and letter would also be effective:

https://actionnetwork.org/forms/sign-the-petition-to-congress-vote-no-on-the-restrict-act

Here are ways to contact Senators.

U.S. Senate: Contacting U.S. Senators

Onwards!

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