United States Government

The USA PATRIOT Act of 2001 was the result of the 9 /11 aftermath . It was introduced less than seven days after that tragic incident , and on October 26th , it was passed into law (American Library Association [ALA] , 2006 . USA PATRIOT is the acronym for Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism (ALA , 2006 . The act is defined as such : To deter and punish terrorist acts in the United States and around the world , to enhance law enforcement investigatory tools , and for other purposes (Public

Law 107-56 107th Congress . This law diversified the capacity of law enforcement for surveillance and investigation (ALA , 2006 . This law was met with much criticism , as it was seen as a threat to intellectual freedom and privacy rights (ALA 2006 , and it has undergone the process of reauthorization . Since the passing of the law , several changes have been made . Take Section 215 for example . Originally , this section enabled the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI ) only to declare that records were pursued for the sake of authorized investigation "to obtain foreign intelligence information not concerning a United States person or to protect against international terrorism or clandestine intelligence activities (ALA 2006 . After the law has been rewritten , the FBI now has the power to acquire library records of anyone as long as they have reasonable grounds ' to think that the said records are crucial to their investigation (ALA , 2007 . Now that Section 215 can be challenged , but only in the presence of a petition review panel ' of a FISA (Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act ) court (ALA , 2006 Challenges are determined by its lawfulness (ALA , 2006

References

American Library Association (2006 . The USA PATRIOT Act . Retrieved January 9 , 2008 , from http /www .ala .org /ala /washoff /woissues /civilliberties /theusapatriotact usapatriotact .cfm recinfo

Findlaw .com (2001 . Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism (USA PATRIOT Act ) Act of 2001 . Retrieved January 9 , 2008 , from news .findlaw .com /cnn /docs /terrorism /hr3162 .pdf United States Government PAGE 2...