Privacy And The Patriot Act

Privacy and the Patriot Act

Erin L. Messer
Florida Institute of Technology

The USA PATRIOT Act is an Act of Congress that was signed into law by President George W. Bush on October 26, 2001. Its title is a ten-letter backronym (U.S.A. P.A.T.R.I.O.T.) that stands for “Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001. (Wikipedia, 2017) The USA PATRIOT Act was promptly written based upon the terrorist attacks on The World Trade Center and the Pentagon on September 11, 2001, and stimulated a nationwide aspiration for tighter security. There was previously nothing in place of this capacity prior to these attacks. Privacy and the PATRIOT Act has long been

Public response has been heated due to this. Supporters of the Patriot Act say they’re not against civil liberties, but public safety requires granting the government greater surveillance powers. Dead people, this camp argues, have no civil liberties at all. Privacy advocates, including many library professionals, say we need national security and public safety but not at the expense of our rights as citizens. If we give up too many freedoms, they argue, the terrorists will have won. These advocates maintain that the U.S. Constitution exists to protect free speech in paranoid times when a slide toward repression is most likely to be accepted by the public. (Minow, 2002) Many people believe that it’s ok as long as it merely targets the ‘bad’ people who are here in the United States that are doing corrupt things with ties to terrorist or other negative organizations or groups. We should worry about how these people are uncovered if they’re doing underground or below radar types of communications and transactions without tapping into their privacy. Most people who partake in collusion, drugs, or terrorist groups really aren’t out parading down the street with signs stating who they are and what

The PATRIOT Act desperately needs an overhaul and revision so as not to impose on the rights of the people. There are several states that are calling for the Constitution to be amended. I highly doubt that would take place as it seems that it would just become a huge ordeal if it did. Granted, the Constitution of United States of America is more than 200 years old and some things are perhaps outdated. There are several pros regarding the PATRIOT Act. It has been known to prevent attacks more quickly, it provides safety to citizens; enhanced security measures, and assists law enforcement. These are all great things that have become of the PATRIOT Act. Just as there are pros; there are cons. Under the PATRIOT Act, National Security Letters (NSLs) are issued by FBI agents, without a judge’s approval, to obtain personal information, including phone records, computer records, credit history, and banking history. Clearly, it violates freedoms, leads to fear and hostility, lack of understanding, and it’s not clearly defined. (Occupy Theory, 2015) The cons listed are alarming. One shouldn’t encounter freedom violations from their own government. No one should live in fear or hostility. It seems that it creates some of the very things it’s designed to work against. From 2003 through 2005, The Federal Bureau of Investigator’s sent only 53 criminal referrals to prosecutors after issuing more than 143,000