The Balancing Act Between Freedom & Security

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Introduction The USA Patriot Act came about after 9/11. The Act remains in use today with some slight modifications. On the other hand, FISA has been in use since the mid-1970s. Both Acts are highly controversial and are foreign to the average citizen. National security always requires a balancing act between freedom and security. As the saying goes, freedom is not free. This paper will describe the primary elements and / or components of the USA Patriot Act and FISA and research how the media has conveyed the main messages and elements of both acts. It will go on to discuss the media portrayal and general public perception of these acts. The paper will close with a discussion based on whether I believe the nation is more secure with these acts in place. The USA Patriot Act The Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001, otherwise known as the USA Patriot Act of 2001, President Bush signed into law October 26, 2001. The act is a response to the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the United States. Not without controversy, the act allowed for surveillance of citizens and non-citizens alike all to detect and prevent terrorist activities within the borders of the United States. It extended powers to the Justice Department deemed necessary to combat what “had not existed before. The presence of terrorists within national borders along with the need to apprehend and prosecute them, hopefully before rather than after they acted” (Rouse, 2010). The broad reach of the act allowed for message interception, telephone line taps or any form of communication deemed relevant in the ongoing fight against terrorist activity in the United States. Foreign Intelligence Su... ... middle of paper ... ...n Surveillance Intelligence Act. Retrieved from https://ssd.eff.org/foreign/fisa Reporters Committee. (n.d.). Introduction - Criminal proceedings. Retrieved from http://www.rcfp.org/first-amendment-handbook/introduction-criminal-proceedings Reporters Committee. (2013). Reporters Committee, media organizations challenge FISA court ruling on right to challenge secrecy. Retrieved from http://www.rcfp.org/reporters-committee-media-organizations-challenge-fisa-court-ruling-right-challenge-secrecy Rouse, M. (2010). Patriot Act. Retrieved from http://searchdatamanagement.techtarget.com/definition/Patriot-Act Zuckerman, J., Bucci, S., & Carafano, J. (2014). 60 Terrorist plots since 9/11: Continued lessons in domestic counterterrorism. Retrieved from http://www.heritage.org/research/reports/2013/07/60-terrorist-plots-since-911-continued-lessons-in-domestic-counterterrorism

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