Patriot Act in the United States

Patriot Act Background

On October 26, 2001, the United States Congress passed the Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act (USA PATRIOT Act). The next day, President Bush signed it into law. The USA PATRIOT Act broadly expanded the powers of United States federal law enforcement agencies to investigate cases involving foreign intelligence and international terrorism.

The most significant and powerful provisions of the law allow for:

Expanded Surveillance: The USA PATRIOT Act greatly expanded the scope of traditional tools of surveillance, such as wiretaps and pen registers/trap and trace. Surveillance measures under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) relating to spying in the United States by foreign intelligence agencies were also expanded.
The USA PATRIOT Act significantly increased the type and amount of information the government can obtain about users from their Internet Service Providers (ISPs). It permits ISPs to voluntarily give law enforcement all “non-content” information without requiring a court order or subpoena. It also expanded the records the government may seek with a simple subpoena (no court review required) to include records of session times and durations, temporarily assigned network (IP) addresses, means and source of payments, including credit card or bank account numbers. See Electronic Frontier Foundation, Analysis of the Provisions of the USA Patriot Act that Relate to Online Activities, October 31, 2001.
Easy access to records: Under the legislation, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) can require anyone to turn over records on their customers or clients. This gives the United States´ federal government unparalleled power to access and review individuals´ financial records, medical histories, Internet usage, travel patterns, and other records.
Expansion of the exceptions in wiretap law: The law expanded exceptions to the normal requirement for probable cause in wiretap law. Now the FBI need not show probable cause or even reasonable suspicion of criminal activity prior to a wiretap.
Secret searches: Under what is known as “sneak and peek” search warrants, the government can conduct searches without notifying the subjects until long after the search has been executed.
Increased information-sharing between domestic law enforcement and intelligence agencies: Restrictions on American foreign intelligence agencies from spying on United States citizens and on the exchange of information were reduced. The USA PATRIOT Act allows for wiretap results, grand jury information and other information collected in criminal cases to be disclosed to intelligence agencies when the information constitutes foreign intelligence. See Electronic Frontier Foundation, Analysis of the Provisions of the USA Patriot Act that Relate to Online Activities, October 31, 2001.

Several provisions of the USA PATRIOT Act expired on December 31, 2005 unless renewed by Congress. The sunset provision does not apply to the sharing of grand jury information with the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), secret searches, or extended application of the pen register and trap-and-trace law to the Internet. Nor does it apply to ongoing investigations. See Center for Democracy and Technology, CDT Policy Post, Volume 7, Number 11, October 26, 2001.