The idea of banning TikTok seems to have suddenly become bipartisan, which is reason enough to pause and question. The legislative mechanism through which some lawmakers hope to accomplish the ban is South Dakota Republican John Thune’s and Virginia Democrat Mark Warner’s RESTRICT Act, which boasts eleven Republican and ten Democrat cosponsors.

Here is the legal thrust of the bill:

[I]f the President determines that the covered holding poses an undue or unacceptable risk to the national security of the United States or the security and safety of United States persons, the President may take such action as the President considers appropriate to compel divestment of, or otherwise mitigate the risk associated with, such covered holding to the full extent the covered holding is subject...