FISA and the Patriot Act

FISA and the Patriot Act

Summary of FISA and Patriot Act

Patriot Act

The Patriot Act expanded the categories of "supporting terrorism" and increased the punishment for that offense to 10 or 15 years in prison. The Patriot Act increases the powers of the law spy Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) court and administration. This act was passed as the result of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001(fincen.gov). The major aim of the Patriot Act is the strengthening of the domestic security and broadening the powers of the agencies of law enforcement, so that the terrorist can be identified and arrested. There are various supports of this act as well as critics. The supporters believe that it is an effective means of combating terrorism, while the critics believe this act grants too much power to the government and it violates and threatens the civil liberties.

FISA

In 2008, Congress passed revisions to FISA which allowed the Bush administration as well as the future administrations to spread out its foreign intelligence operations in a way that could violate U.S. civil liberties. When the court approves a request for FBI spying under FISA, the FBI can enter a house to with the search warrant and take things without the owner's knowledge (Liu, 2011). Congress passed the FISA law in 1978 amid a scandal because they learned that the White House, the FBI and other government agencies were spying on many people. The Patriot Act amended FISA Act so that the FBI request to be delivered tangible things (including books, records, papers, documents and other items) for an investigation.

Supportive and Opposing Positions of FISA and Patriot Act

Following are the two supportive and two opposing positions of the Patriot Act as well as FISA:

Supportive Positions of Patriot Act

Following are the supportive positions of Patriot ...