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The Pros And Cons Of The Patriot Act

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Today, terrorism has become the most newsworthy headline.Terrorism has been happening all over the world and people are not sure how to stop it. People want terrorism to stop however, they do not want their rights violated. Through social media, many have mentioned that “the government is always watching us.” The USA PATRIOT Act (Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act) signed in 2001, allows the government to have access to anything, anytime, anywhere. The government uses this act to keep track of terrorists. Just because they have access to something, like someone’s cell phone, does not mean they use that to their advantage. Unless someone is putting people in danger the government is not going to pay any attention to them. The government has had access to personal data for over 40 years. The Patriot Act is a combination of laws that were present in the 1970’s and 1980’s. Law enforcement has been able to use electronic surveillance long before the Patriot Act was signed. However, the Patriot Act allows law enforcement to use more surveillance against crimes of terror. Whether it is the use of cameras, cellular devices or wiretaps, surveillance simply means to watch over someone or …show more content…

Not only is The Patriot Act about giving the government an easier way to access information it is also giving criminals proper punishments. It has enhanced the maximum penalties for those who commit terrorist crimes such as arson ,destruction of national defence materials, attacks on mass transit systems. Conspiring to do something illegal now carries a maximum of 5 years imprisonment.. After signing The Patriot Act we have also been able to punish bioterrorists who are terrorists that release biological agents. Now that we have this act terrorists will have harsher penalties than

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