The Patriot Act

The Patriot Act

Introduction

In the wake of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, Congress passed legislation referred to as the USA PATRIOT Act—Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism—precipitating a political clash over national security and civil liberties. While proponents of the measure emphasized the need for strong counterterrorism measures, critics warned of a wholesale expansion of domestic surveillance (Gerdes, 2005).

The Patriot Act, amending the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), the Electronic Communications Privacy Act of 1986 (ECPA), the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA), the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), and other federal statutes, was overwhelmingly passed by Congress—357-66 (House) and 98-1-1 (Senate)—and signed into law by President George W. Bush on October 26, 2001. Although there was no public hearing or congressional debate on the legislation, a sunset proviso was added due to concerns raised about civil liberties. In March 2006, the USA PATRIOT Improvement and Reauthorization Act was passed—280-138 (House) and 89-10 (Senate)—making permanent all but two of the original sections of the law.

Discussion

Under the Patriot Act's counterterrorism provisions, federal authorities (generally the FBI) are granted greater latitude to tap telephone calls (including voice mail) and Internet communications; search financial, tax, medical, library, and school records; monitor the activities of foreigners inside U.S. borders; and conduct “sneak and peek” searches of homes or businesses (including virtual networks). By issuing a National Security Letter (NSL), federal investigators may demand certain information from an institution without court approval. In addition, the new criminal designation of “domestic terrorism” was established, raising concern among civil libertarians that it could be used for inappropriate purposes against political activists (such as abortion protesters, environmental activists, and antiwar demonstrators) (Foerstel, 2008).

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) opposed the USA PATRIOT Act from its inception, raising particular concern about the monitoring of libraries, under Section 215, which allowed federal agents to access information on the reading activities of patrons. The ACLU also objected to Section 206, pertaining to “roving” wiretaps—under this provision, the government may obtain a warrant to monitor all communication devices used by a suspect (including those shared with others) with no safeguards to restrict the monitoring of actual communication activities.

Homeland Security Issues (Background)

On September 11, 2001, the al Qaeda terrorist group led attacks that destroyed the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York City and damaged the Pentagon in Washington, D.C. The attacks, which caused the deaths of more than three thousand, laid bare severe deficiencies in homeland security. Not only had American intelligence agencies not predicted the attacks, but clear deficiencies in handling the aftermath became evident. Immediately the demand was heard for more effective internal and external security (Amitai, 2004).

The Office of Homeland Security was quickly formed to handle any imminent threats and crises. In March 2002 it introduced color coding of the perceived danger of terrorist attack, based on available intelligence. This system, critics charged, seemed to create alarm while providing no ...