Government Spying: Exceeding the Laws and Values of a Democratic Society The war on terrorism immediately followed the 9/11 attacks on American soil. However, shortly after the horrific event came the USA Patriot Act. The Act, was immediately passed by those in the House of Representatives and signed by the president became the new law. It passed abruptly and by the majority without being fully examined giving new privileges to the U.S. Government over the private individual. The USA Patriot Act consists of hundreds of pages of changes and revisions of law that could eventually affect the rights of American citizens forever. In particular, the Act entails major alterations to existing surveillance laws expanding the government 's authority to spy on citizens, while at the same time reducing their public and constitutional accountability to American citizens. The main idea is that spying on citizens is a useless weapon; its methods are misused, it is unnecessary, it threatens a constitutional democracy, and it is unconstitutional for the United States government to spy on its citizens when combating terrorism. Spying on American citizens is now a common method employed by the government striving to protect the nation from terrorist attacks. Nonetheless, since its incorporation, the Act has been controversial as politicians and citizens alike have argued between the need to keep society safe and abusive powers of the government over its citizens. Although, mandated to serve as
The Patriot Act, an act passed by Congress in 2001 that addressed the topic of privacy in terrorist or radical situations, is controversial in today's society. Although it helps with protection against terroristic events, The Patriot Act is not fair, nor is it constitutional, because it allows the government to intrude on citizens' privacy, it gives governmental individuals too much power, and because the act is invasive to the 4th amendment right. To further describe key points in the act, it states that it allows investigators to use the tools that were already available to investigate organized crime and drug trafficking, and it allows law enforcement officials to obtain a search warrant anywhere a terrorist-related activity occurred.
After the tragic events of 9/11, the government desperately needed to find a way to contradict terrorism. They approached this conflict by passing the Patriot Act in October 26, 2001, signed by President George W. Bush. This act widened the government’s authority to invade their citizens’ privacy, while reducing checks and balances like judicial oversight, public accountability, and the ability to challenge government searches in court. Even though the Patriot Act was purposely ratified to benefit our country from dangerous terrorists, some people quarreled and disapproved of it. In my perspective, I would have also disagreed on the Patriot Act.
“The Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act” (PATRIOT ACT) was signed into the law by former president bush on October 26, 2001. It was sought by the administration and passed by Congress in response to 9/11. It intended to expand the authority of law enforcement officials and intelligence agents to combat terrorism in the united states. The patriot act revised many of the existing United States statutes, including immigration laws, banking laws, and the “Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act” (FISA). Even though the law had widespread approval in Congress when it was passed, many of its augmentations have been highly controversial and has been challenged in court. This
After the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center on September 11th, 2001 the United States became a very different place. This drastic change was caused by the initial emotional reactions that American citizens, as well as government leaders had towards the tragic event. The government, in an effort to assure that these events never happen again passed the USA PATRIOT Act, which is an acronym that stands for the Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act. The major goal of this act is to combat terrorism by giving the government more leeway in what areas they are allowed to use their surveillance tools and also to what circumstances these tools can be used. The major issue that arise with this act are the fact that many of the act can be seen as unconstitutional.
After the attacks on September 11th of 2001, George W. Bush and his administration, along with Congress, agreed that national security needed more power within the executive branch. Our government leaders then rushed the legislative and review process and got the USA Patriot Act signed to law on October 26th of 2001 by President George W. Bush. The USA Patriot Act is an acronym that stands for Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism. It was passed to prevent future threats and acts of terrorism in the United States and to strengthen our national defense against terrorism. Since this act came into effect, lawmakers and citizens have heavily criticized it. The USA Patriot Act has been said to contradict civil liberties and be a violation of Constitutional rights, but its most controversial sections have continued to be extended
According to internet, The Patriot Act was a U.S. law passed in response to the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. Its goals were to strengthen domestic security and broaden the
The United States Patriot Act was a series of bills that were passed into law and enacted into the Patriot Act in 2001 by George W. Bush. This Act was designed to protect Americans in the wake of the 9/11 bombings and the 2001 Anthrax attacks. According to George W. Bush this Act was designed to protect United States citizens and prevent another terroristic attack similar to 9/11.
What exactly does the USA PATRIOT ACT mean? The USA PATRIOT Act was signed on October 2001 by President George W. Bush. It was an acronym that stood for Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act. It was an extremely long act that was meant to improve surveillance and security procedures, yet many felt that it is based on stereotypes. Some of the provisions of the USA PATRIOT Act were to assist the government agencies discover and avoid any potential instances of terrorism. There are many people who feels that the United States is in need of this Act due to the way it assists in preventing terrorism. People felt that it gave an extreme amount of power to the law enforcement
The USA PATRIOT Act was a law passed six weeks after September 11, 2001, which is in October 26, 2001, created by George W. Bush. USA PATRIOT Act is an acronym for “Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001”. Which is ironic due to the disagreements about the act that can be described as it is unconstitutional. Which are caused by the fact that the government is invading the people’s privacy by going through our phones, history of everything that is electronically, messages, phone logs, etc. without having a legal contract by the government, and going against our natural (unalienable) rights. It also violates the Bill of Rights, however, mostly on the first and fourth amendment.
The USA PATRIOT Act was a piece of legislation that was signed into law to address the realities of modern terrorism. The new breed of terrorism was sophisticated and used new technologies that, according to the President, “were not available at the time that the existing laws were written”, he said in his speech during the bill signing press event on October 26. 2001; a fair argument. He said “The bill before me takes account of the new realities and dangers posed by modern terrorists” and the Patriot Act was “an essential step in defeating terrorism while protecting the constitutional rights of all Americans”. But how does the Patriot Act do that? How does it protect the constitutional rights of Americans? How does it help defeat
The Patriot Act allows the United States to use surveillance and wiretaps to keep its country safe from terrorists and other radical groups. This impacts our lives everyday whether we know it or not, by such as a one
The Patriot Act was signed into law on October 26, 2001 by President George W. Bush. The act expanded the surveillance capability of both domestic law enforcement and international intelligence agencies. When this law was passed it was under the assumption “to deter and punish terrorist acts in the United States and around the world, to enhance law enforcement investigatory tools, and for other purposes” (The USA Patriot). The Patriot Act has given the government the power to spy on the average American through monitoring phone records and calls, gaining banking and credit information, and even track a person’s internet activity. This is an unbelievable amount of power intelligence agencies wield all under the umbrella of national security. This power has gone too far, is unjustified, unconstitutional, and infringes on the privacy of the
Public Law 107-56 otherwise known as the USA PATRIOT Act was signed into law by President George W. Bush on October 26, 2001. USA PATRIOT Act is an acronym which stands for Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act. (justice.gov) This law was instated in response to the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001. The Islamic terrorist group known as Al-Qaeda, coordinated four different plane hijackings killing 2,996 people, and injuring 6,000+ others. (9/11 memorial.org) Just weeks after the attacks congress rushed to pass this bill, passing the senate 98 to 1, and the house 357 to 66 (justice.gov), so that we can have more security controls within the United States. It gives the United States government the same powers and tools used to investigate organized crime and drug trafficking in decades prior, to investigate current suspected terrorist. The Patriot act has several different titles that cover different grounds, all which have the same purpose of preventing future acts of terrorism. The patriot act allows the government to track and intercept any form of electronic communications of suspected terrorist in order to prevent any acts of terror, and also for intelligence gathering. The act also aids the government in securing borders, and removing those that are here with the intent to cause harm.
One of the most controversial issues to come forth from the post 9/11 era is the Patriot Act. This is a law that was passed by congress to help the intelligence agencies and the executive branch succeed in their counter terrorism efforts. Also, "To deter and punish terrorist acts in the United States and around the world, to enhance law enforcement investigatory tools and other reasons(Patriot Act)."
Ever since the American public was made aware of the United States government’s surveillance policies, it has been a hotly debated issue across the nation. In 2013, it was revealed that the NSA had, for some time, been collecting data on American citizens, in terms of everything from their Internet history to their phone records. When the story broke, it was a huge talking point, not only across the country, but also throughout the world. The man who introduced Americans to this idea was Edward Snowden.