The Restrict Act could potentially ban more than just Gen Z’s favorite app. 

The Restrict Act could potentially ban more than just Gen Z’s favorite app. While Congress has been debating about TikTok’s existence, the proposed Restrict Act brings up other tech platforms and services like security tools and “virtual private networks (VPNs) that consumers use to encrypt and route their traffic.” While the bill’s intention is to “target apps or services that pose a threat to national security,” Gen Z and Millennial critics are worried that the bill will majorly infringe upon their freedom of speech. Young people have concerns about the bill targeting popular software that has more than 1M users in the U.S. as well as the vague language the bill uses with words like “desktop applications,” “mobile applications,” “gaming applications,” “payment applications,” and “web-based applications.” YPulse’s Not Waiting on the World to Change trend research found that 57% of young people believe that they have the power to change things in the real world if they make enough noise online—and they certainly know how on TikTok. (Vice)