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The 2000s in America

USA PATRIOT Act

by Lucia Pizzo

The Law: Federal legislation that expanded the power of law enforcement agencies in order to facilitate antiterrorism efforts

Date: Signed on October 26, 2001

Also Known As: Patriot Act; Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism

Passed into law following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, the USA PATRIOT Act sought to prevent future acts of terrorism against the United States by facilitating information sharing between intelligence and law-enforcement agencies, among other provisions. Many opponents considered the act unconstitutional because it sacrificed personal privacy for the sake of public security.

Initially called the Anti-Terrorism Act of 2001, the Patriot Act was proposed by Attorney General John Ashcroft and the Department of Justice in an effort to remove obstacles to law-enforcement efforts in monitoring and detaining terrorists. While the act updated existing laws, modernizing surveillance techniques to address new technology, it also focused on addressing federal weaknesses that allowed the September 11, 2001, attacks to occur. The Patriot Act enabled information sharing between the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in order to address the information disconnect between the two groups. Since the attacks were made using airplanes, the act included provisions to increase airport security. The act also allowed indefinite detention of immigrants suspected of terrorist ties, a provision fraught with controversy. Another intrusive provision of the Patriot Act allowed government officials to search citizens’ homes and records secretly. While the federal government maintained that secrecy was vital to the success of these searches, opponents viewed the provision as invasive.

Opponents criticized the Patriot Act for its infringement on civil liberties. Early on, Senator Russ Feingold strongly opposed the act and voted against it. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and the Electronic Privacy Information Center claimed that the act violated the Fourth Amendment, which protects Americans from unreasonable searches and seizures. The Electronic Frontier Foundation joined in opposition, touting the freedoms guaranteed by the First Amendment.

Most criticized was the act’s section 215, which gave the FBI authority over the personal records of US citizens, including medical, financial, telephone, and library records. To obtain records, the FBI would submit a national security letter (NSL), which included a gag order to preemptively eliminate discussing the receipt of the NSL and prohibiting challenge of the NSL in court. The ACLU charged that section 215 and its gag order violated the First Amendment’s protection of free speech. They were joined by the American Library Association, which stated strong opposition to this invasion of privacy.

To curb the law’s potential abuses, Congress members proposed several amendments. These included Senator Bernie Sanders’s Freedom to Read Protection Act and Senators Larry Craig and Dick Durbin’s Security and Freedom Ensured Act, though these measures failed to pass.

Impact

Although many provisions of the Patriot Act were set to expire in 2005, both Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama renewed several of the act’s provisions. Many critics of the Patriot Act contend that, since its enactment, law-enforcement agencies have disproportionately and unfairly targeted law-abiding Muslim Americans for surveillance. As the act lives on, the US government must reconcile protecting American privacy with protecting American lives, particularly as surveillance technology advances. While the law began as a measure to combat terrorism, critics of the act fear that it could be used to transform the US government into an oppressive force.

Further Reading

1 

Finan, Christopher M. From the Palmer Raids to the Patriot Act. Boston: Beacon, 2007. Print.

2 

Herman, Susan N. Taking Liberties: The War on Terror and the Erosion of American Democracy. New York: Oxford UP, 2011. Print.

Citation Types

Type
Format
MLA 9th
Pizzo, Lucia. "USA PATRIOT Act." The 2000s in America, edited by Craig Belanger, Salem Press, 2013. Salem Online, online.salempress.com/articleDetails.do?articleName=2000_0379.
APA 7th
Pizzo, L. (2013). USA PATRIOT Act. In C. Belanger (Ed.), The 2000s in America. Salem Press.
CMOS 17th
Pizzo, Lucia. "USA PATRIOT Act." Edited by Craig Belanger. The 2000s in America. Hackensack: Salem Press, 2013. Accessed September 18, 2025. online.salempress.com.