USA Patriot Act: What’s Next?
Information Today, Vol. 24, No. 3, p. 1, 2006
4 Pages Posted: 8 Jul 2009
Abstract
After nearly a year of proposals and counter-proposals, two extensions, and ongoing behind the scenes negotiations, Congress passed two bills renewing the USA PATRIOT Act. President Bush signed the legislation only hours before the Act was set to expire. The USA PATRIOT Act was enacted weeks after the September 11, 2001 attacks as a response to concerns about breakdowns in intelligence gathering that may have contributed to the attack. The Act was also intended to strengthen law-enforcement and intelligence-gathering tools to prevent future attacks. However, it has been criticized for threatening constitutional rights and civil liberties. This work examines the Act as well as some of the changes that were made when it was renewed. In addition, it considers what form the USA PATRIOT Act may take in the future and what debate may follow.
Keywords: USA PATRIOT Act, USA PATRIOT Reauthorization Act, privacy, national security, civil liberties, constitutional rights, secrecy provision, free speech, First Amendment, American Library Association, intelligence gathering, unwarranted searches
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