Republicans are blasting a new bill floated as a TikTok ban that would give the executive branch of the federal government the power to throw citizens in jail for any online behavior it deems a "national security risk."

The RESTRICT Act is being marketed to the American people as a TikTok ban to protect American data from the Chinese, but Republicans looking at the bill are seeing something completely different and frightening--an internet version of the Patriot Act "on steroids."

The Restricting the Emergence of Security Threats that Risk Information and Communications Technology Act was introduced by Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA), and it gives the federal government the ability to unilaterally designate any nation as a "foreign adversary," ban its online services, then punish Americans with steep fines and jail time for any transaction with that nation.

The government will also be able to seize assets of Americans found to be in violation of the act.

"It's never about what they say it is"

Tucker Carlson was one of the first to sound the alarm about the bill, saying earlier in the week, “This bill isn’t about banning TikTok. It’s never about what they say it is. Instead, this bill would give enormous and terrifying new powers to the federal government to punish American citizens and regulate how they communicate with one another.”

“So you would be allowing the executive branch — the Biden administration — to regulate speech on the internet," he continued. "And if you are somehow involved with, quote, a foreign adversary — let’s say you oppose the war against Russia — you go to prison for 20 years.”

“So, this isn’t about banning TikTok. This is about introducing flat-out totalitarianism into our system. Now, just because TikTok is so unappealing… that does not mean that the people trying to ban TikTok have your interests in mind,” he concluded.

Donald Trump Jr. retweeted some language from the bill on Tuesday and said, "Nothing is ever as it seems. The uniparty wants more power to control what we do and see. And now we’re going to give the Biden goons the ability to throw us in jail for 20 years if they decide we’re in violation of this craziness? No thanks."

Nothing is ever as it seems. The uniparty wants more power to control what we do and see. And now we’re going to give the Biden goons the ability to throw us in jail for 20 years if they decide we’re in violation of this craziness? No thanks. https://t.co/NKpBlUry4L

— Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) March 28, 2023

No oversight

The bill also exempts the federal government from Freedom of Information Act requests related to its activities, effectively avoiding any oversight.

Breitbart News notes that the bill would function as an "American version of the Chinese 'Great Firewall,'" cutting citizens off from much of the internet.

Ostensibly, Republicans can block this bill from passage and demand a clean bill for banning TikTok, even if it makes it look like they are against banning TikTok when they've been saying they were for it.

Democrats are never going to stop trying to push through their radical agenda and hoodwink Republicans and the American people into doing their bidding.

We need to continue to view anything they put forward with suspicion.