Senator Rand Paul can be both frustrating at times and brutally purposeful at times. While Paul is a legislative enigma and often a hot mess…. When he is incorrect, he is allowing the DeceptiCons to advance; but when he is correct on the core issue, Senator Paul can be brilliant.
Senator Josh Hawley took to the Senate floor yesterday to present a modified version of the “Restrict Act” as an alternative to the complete government takeover of all internet content – a worthy endeavor.
Hawley tried to strip out the DHS takeover component of the Restrict Act, and just present a bill that bans TikTok. Senator Rand Paul refused to permit Unanimous Consent for the bill to proceed immediately to a vote. Senator Paul slows down the Senate deliberations while asking some bigger questions.
The entire Hawley -vs- Paul debate is worth watching (there are two videos, one long – one short). I sense that Hawley’s intent is good, but Rand Paul is on the right side of the argument. The American people have never, not once, benefited from any legislative endeavor such as what is being proposed in the effort to ban TikTok. It’s not about TikTok, it’s about freedom.
The originating debate is below the fold. This segment is the shorter follow-up that follows Senator Paul blocking unanimous consent. If you have time, watch both. If you do not have the time, this first one is solid enough to understand the arguments. Notice how Senator Paul says everything inside this rush to ban is based on “speculation and conjecture.” This is a point DC doesn’t want people to think about. Nothing has been proven, only accused. WATCH:
WASHINGTON, March 29 (Reuters) – U.S. Republican Senator Rand Paul on Wednesday blocked a bid to fast-track a ban of popular Chinese-owned social media app TikTok, which more than 150 million Americans use, citing concerns about free speech and uneven treatment of social media companies.
“I think we should beware of those who use fear to coax Americans to relinquish our liberties,” Paul said on the Senate floor. “Every accusation of data gathering that has been attributed to TikTok could also be attributed to domestic big tech companies.”
Republican Senator Josh Hawley had sought unanimous consent for a TikTok ban bill. “It protects the American people and it sends a message to Communist China that you cannot buy us,” Hawley said, adding the app is spying on Americans.
“If Republicans want to continuously lose elections for a generation they should pass this bill to ban TikTok — a social media app used by 150 million people, primarily young Americans,” Paul said on the Senate floor. “Do we really want to emulate Chinese speech bans?… We’re going to be just like China and ban speech we’re afraid of?”
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy said last week he expects the house will take up a bill to address TikTok but the timing is unclear. It is also not clear what a final bill to address TikTok might look like.
A small but growing number of Democrats and Republicans have raised concerns, citing free speech and other issues and have objected to legislation targeting TikTok as overly broad. (read more)
