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The Usa Patriot Act

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The FISA and the USA Patriot Act The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) and the United and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act (USA Patriot Act) are two actions taken to aid in the efforts against terrorism in the United States. FISA was enacted in 1978 and the U.S. Patriot Act was enacted in 2001 (McAdams III, no date). Both Acts have been and will continue to be critical instruments to combat terrorism. However, the media has exploited these Acts in terms of civil liberties and has demoralized the truth behind them. This has led the public to misunderstand the purpose and process of both FISA and the USA Patriot Act. The FISA was enacted by Congressional legislation …show more content…

The Act provides the authority for the sharing of information between the intelligence community and law enforcement agencies in an effort to fight terrorism (McAdams III, no date). The Act allows law enforcement to use surveillance to combat terrorism, allows law enforcement to delay warrant notifications to prevent any negative impact to investigations, and under certain circumstances, gives federal agencies the authority to search business records as required to investigate terrorist activity (Department of Justice, no date). It also provides authority for law enforcement agencies to respond to terrorist activity and assist victims of computer trespassing (Department of Justice, no date). The USA Patriot Act updates and improves the FISA in an effort to fight the war on terrorism. However, the media has twisted the minds of the public into a different perspective of these …show more content…

US News reports the FISA and USA Patriot Act as a "privacy scandal" (Fox, 2013). NPR News reports the concern of "civil liberty[ies] groups" protesting the USA Patriot Act and the concern for the authorities to demand business records from various companies (Johnson, 2011, p.1). What the media fails to convey to the general public is the intent of these Acts is to combat terrorism and not to invade privacy. Millions of people travel the world every day snapping photos from their digital cameras and iPhones. Perhaps to capture a memory or an unusual event, and sometimes other people in the background. Are random photographs an invasion of privacy? The point is intelligence collectors are not interested in the daily communications of millions of citizens--they are interested in collecting information on terrorist and criminal activity. If this is the price we have to pay in order to make our country a safer place to live, then people shouldn 't complain. If the alternative is another attack like 9//11, maybe the anti-USA Patriot activists might think twice about their civil liberties. However, the Government is now considering changes to appease the

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