The Importance Of The Patriot Act
“When it comes to privacy and accountability, people always demand the former for themselves and the latter for everyone else.” By definition privacy is the state or condition of being free from being observed or disturbed by other people. What separates us from individuals in other countries is the rulebook we follow-namely the constitution. Collectively (government and citizens) agree to follow the rules (according to the constitution), but sometimes the rules must be stretched or broken. The government should violate a civil liberty provided by the constitution when it is for the safety of the country.
As a result of the attacks on the date of 9/11, Congress passed the Patriot Act. The Patriot Act made the government’s ability to spy on individuals easier, but also weakened the checks and balances our country relies on. So in essence, the threat of terrorism against our country paved the way for violating one of our basic civil liberties under the fourth amendment of the constitution – the ability to live free of unreasonable searches and seizures. However, the ability for government agencies to obtain information quickly and without warning becomes a powerful tool against terrorism. …show more content…
The Patriot Act extends the reach of the government's surveillance powers in two important areas: secret searches and records searches.
First, secret searches give the government the ability to search private property without prior notice. Before the Patriot Act, a search warrant would need to be issued which can take time and effort. Now the government can act quickly to prevent terrorist activity from happening. In 2005, Levar Haley Washington’s apartment was searched under the authority of the Patriot Act and he was found to be a member of a terrorist group. Ultimately, he was charged with conspiring to attack National Guard facilities, synagogues, and other targets in the Los Angeles
area.
The second area is record searches. The Patriot Act gives government the ability to look at records about an individual's activity being held by third parties. Specifically, Patriot Act allows the FBI to force anyone, even if they have a privacy policy, to turn over records on their clients or customers. This becomes a very very powerful tool since the Internet is creating millions of “records” each day and that data can now be scrutinized. Being able to monitor email and internet activity gives government agencies additional intelligence to make decisions about current and future terrorist activity. Without this power, terrorists have a free pass to communicate without fear.
The Patriot Act recognizes that terrorists seek to break the law, not abide by it and are very creative in their attempts to do so. Government agencies must be dynamic in the face of changing threats even if it violates our civil liberties in some cases. The Patriot Act provides this capability.
As a result of the attacks on the date of 9/11, Congress passed the Patriot Act. The Patriot Act made the government’s ability to spy on individuals easier, but also weakened the checks and balances our country relies on. So in essence, the threat of terrorism against our country paved the way for violating one of our basic civil liberties under the fourth amendment of the constitution – the ability to live free of unreasonable searches and seizures. However, the ability for government agencies to obtain information quickly and without warning becomes a powerful tool against terrorism. …show more content…
The Patriot Act extends the reach of the government's surveillance powers in two important areas: secret searches and records searches.
First, secret searches give the government the ability to search private property without prior notice. Before the Patriot Act, a search warrant would need to be issued which can take time and effort. Now the government can act quickly to prevent terrorist activity from happening. In 2005, Levar Haley Washington’s apartment was searched under the authority of the Patriot Act and he was found to be a member of a terrorist group. Ultimately, he was charged with conspiring to attack National Guard facilities, synagogues, and other targets in the Los Angeles
area.
The second area is record searches. The Patriot Act gives government the ability to look at records about an individual's activity being held by third parties. Specifically, Patriot Act allows the FBI to force anyone, even if they have a privacy policy, to turn over records on their clients or customers. This becomes a very very powerful tool since the Internet is creating millions of “records” each day and that data can now be scrutinized. Being able to monitor email and internet activity gives government agencies additional intelligence to make decisions about current and future terrorist activity. Without this power, terrorists have a free pass to communicate without fear.
The Patriot Act recognizes that terrorists seek to break the law, not abide by it and are very creative in their attempts to do so. Government agencies must be dynamic in the face of changing threats even if it violates our civil liberties in some cases. The Patriot Act provides this capability.