History Repeated with the USA Patriot Act
Information Today, Vol. 19, No.11, p. 19, December 2002
4 Pages Posted: 10 Jul 2010
Date Written: December 2002
Abstract
This past summer I taught a class on Civil Liberties. One of the interesting things that came to light in that class is the relationship between national security concerns (real or feared) and civil liberties. Several times in our history, periods of increased concern about national security have gone nearly in lockstep with an increased willingness to curtail civil liberties, by both the public as well as in the courts and legislatures.
The attacks of September 11, 2001 impacted this country’s “national well-being” at a level that we have not seen since World War II, and perhaps beyond. The terroristic nature of the attacks heightened that impact in that anyone anywhere felt targeted by virtually anyone, anywhere. Among the government responses to the attacks was the USA PATRIOT Act of 2001 (Public Law 107-56, October 26, 2001, available online at thomas.loc.gov), which has several provisions that impact civil liberties in the interest of the national well-being. At the anniversary of the USA PATRIOT Act, information professionals and the public are increasingly concerned that the “proper balance between freedom and order” may have shifted too far.
Keywords: USA PATRIOT Act, national security, civil liberties, legislation, information gathering, electronic surveillance, terrorism, Fourth Amendment, search and seizure, wiretaps, e-mail tracing, privacy, libraries
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation