The USA Patriot Act
The USA Patriot Act was enacted into law by the congress in the aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist attack. Owing to the ever-shifting terrorism threats, the sole intent of the Act was to update investigative authorities and enhance the collection of information necessary for criminal or foreign intelligence investigations from varied sources and greater access to records of criminal subjects (Henning, 2009). Such records provide crucial information regarding an individual’s communication patterns and spending. On this account, the Patriot Act provided criminal or foreign intelligence investigators with authority to track and scrutinize telephone conversations, intercept email communications, search homes and businesses.
Despite the positive benefits of the Patriot Act, some argue the increased authority granted by this act could erode some of the constitutional rights under Fourth Amendment (Amar, 1994; Amsterdam, 1973). Section 206 of the Patriot Act (Removing Wartaps) authorizes or allows the use of a single wiretap to cover manifold devices, thus averting the necessity of seeking separate authorizations by court to carry investigations on suspects’ cell phone or computer terminals (Podesta, 2002; Pike, 2006). The pro of this section is that roving wiretap help criminal or foreign intelligence investigators adequately and effectively handle technologically sophisticated terror cases such as drone attacks (Abramson, & Godoy, 2006). Contrarily, the con of this section is that the language used the Patriot Act could violate privacy rights of anyone who has made casual contact with suspect in question. Section 206 violates an individual’s privacy rights to personal autonomy and rights to make informed choice whether or not to take part in a specific act.
In my view, this section is effective as it shall help criminal or foreign intelligence investigators deal with technologically fashioned terror attacks and therefore should retained in the Patriot Act. However, to protect innocent individuals from unauthorized snooping, the Congress should amend the section to ensure that investigators identify specific device to tap and or clearly identify the suspected terrorist.