[Infowarrior] - Debunking the Patriot Act as It Turns 15

[Richard Forno]

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2016/10/debunking-patriot-act-it-turns-15

October 26, 2016 | By Kate Tummarello

Debunking the Patriot Act as It Turns 15

The Patriot Act turns 15 today, but that’s nothing to celebrate.

Since President George W. Bush signed this bill into law on October 26, 2001, the Patriot Act has been ardently defended by its supporters in the intelligence community and harshly criticized by members of Congress, the tech industry, and privacy advocates like us. Despite the debates that have unfolded over the last 15 years, including last year’s reforms through the USA FREEDOM Act, there’s still a lot to learn about this controversial law.

Introduced in the wake of the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, the Patriot Act opened up new justifications and methods for U.S. surveillance. In recent years, the debate around the law has focused on the sweeping phone records surveillance exposed by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden in 2013, but there are many aspects to the statute and how it came to be that are unfamiliar to many.

In honor of the law’s 15th anniversary, here are 15 things you might not know about the Patriot Act.

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https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2016/10/debunking-patriot-act-it-turns-15

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