U.S.A. Patriot Act Has Generated

¶ … U.S.A. Patriot Act has generated great controversy since its very beginning, many voices claiming that it is damaging to the basic individual freedoms that Americans have always valued. The Act was initially designed as one of the governmental measures taken in the fight against terrorism after September 11, but the measures stipulated in it generated massive debates over whether or not the Patriot Act abridges essential freedom.

The Patriot Act was passed by the Senate and the House with an overwhelming majority soon after the attacks of 9/11. Considering the circumstances under which the law was voted, it is not surprising that the legislation passed, but there are parts of the Act that require further analysis that will most likely show that it is endangering essential freedoms. The Act was designed and was quickly adopted as a response from the American government to the terrifying terrorist attacks that hit America in 2001 and it represents a measure of internal security.

The official name of the Patriot Act is "The Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act" and its main purpose is to facilitate investigators that are dealing with discovering and preventing terrorist attacks. As terrorist attacks became one of the greatest fears of Americans after 9/11, the Patriot Act was initially seen as a measure that will provide greater power and access to terrorism investigators and it was seen as one of the measures that would prevent other terrorist attacks from happening. However, there are many measures stipulated in the Patriot Act that were later contested and that can be seen as flagrant braking of basic individual freedom.

The USA Patriot Act permits tracking Web sites and e-mails if the law enforcement agency certifies that it relates to an ongoing investigation; searching a business or residence with a warrant but without being forced to notify the owner on the reason of the search or even that the search was made until later in the investigation; installing wiretaps on all phones used by a suspect, even on public phones that might be used by the suspect; detaining non-citizens without a hearing; deportation of non-citizens based on their support to a certain terrorist group, even if that does not necessary qualify as terrorist activity, and many other measures of this type.

Parts of the measures of the U.S.A. Patriot Act were greatly contested by the public opinion that qualifies the Act as threatening to individual freedom. The fact that the FBI would have the possibility to investigate, wiretap and constantly supervise any individual that is considered to be related to terrorist activities is regarded as a grave breaking of individual freedom and many consider that the Patriot Act would eventually end up in allowing the government to create a supervised society in which we can all be victims by simply using a pay phone that is also used by a terrorism suspect.

There are also parts of the U.S.A. Patriot Act that are less controversial and to which most citizens agree with, considering that these are measures that do not harm individual freedom and that are useful in the fight against terrorism. The Act encourages the transfer of information among the CIA, the FBI, and other law enforcement groups and this is seen as a positive change because there were many voices in the past that blamed the poor communication between CIA and FBI.

The very name of the U.S.A. Patriot Act suggests that those that do not support it or that criticize it can be regarded as less than patriotic, so even its name can be contested as it is not correct to classify a citizen as patriotic or not due to its support for a governmental decision. Those that present themselves as against the Patriot Act are not necessarily unpatriotic or protective towards terrorists hiding on U.S. territory, but merely people that are supportive of the basic freedoms that Americans have and which represent the most important asset of USA.

Through the Patriot Act the U.S. government can constantly monitor any terrorism suspect and the people that he interacts with. For example, any phone that might at one point be used by a terrorism suspect can be legally supervised indefinitely and so even those that have no relation with a terrorist suspect and simply use a public phone or accidentally come in contact with a terrorist suspect can be supervised and their phone can be monitored. The biggest concern is that the government will have easier access to personal information of any citizen and that there is no guarantee that that personal information will not be used against individuals. There is a great risk of allowing governmental agencies easy and hidden access to private information as this would permit a great amount of unwanted control of governmental agencies over private life.

The USA Patriot Act also allows governmental agencies to monitor internet activities of individuals and have access to personal e-mails. The FBI for example can use a computer that is attached to an internet service provider and that automatically monitors all e-mails that might be considered suspect, such as the simple use of the word "Allah" in an e-mail.

The USA Patriot Act permits governmental agencies to spy on Americans based simply on assumptions and granting them easily warrants that allow them to secretly monitor every aspect of a citizen's life. The concern is not that the Patriot Act would allow governmental agencies access to private information of those that are considered terrorism suspects, but making it easier for governmental agencies to justify any violation of personal information and granting them access into the private life of just about anyone. The Patriot Act establishes such extensive measures that it is easy for anyone to be considered a suspect and therefore supervised.