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Follow-up legislation proposes to increase the sweeping domestic intelligence and surveillance powers granted to the U.S. federal government by the USA PATRIOT Act - but will it be at the cost of civil liberties?
A sign posted at 10 public libraries in Santa Cruz, California, warns patrons that the government may be watching what they read:
Warning: Although the Santa Cruz Library makes every effort to protect your privacy, under the federal USA PATRIOT ACT (Public Law 107-56), records of the books and other materials you borrow from this library may be obtained by federal agents. That federal law prohibits library workers from informing you if federal agents have obtained records about you. Questions about policy should be directed to Attorney General John Ashcroft, Department of Justice, Washington D.C. 20530.
The United and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism (USA PATRIOT) Act of 2001 allows Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agents to obtain warrants allowing access to the library or bookstore records of anyone connected to an international terrorism or spying investigation.
In Santa Cruz and around the world, many are questioning whether the legislation, which rushed through Congress in the wake of September 11, 2001, is a powerful tool in the war against terrorism or an assault on Americans' most basic rights.
The first major legislative initiative passed by Congress since the horrific 9/11 attacks, President Bush signed H.R. 3162 into law on October 26, 2001. After more than six weeks of discussions and negotiations, members of Congress and the Bush administration reached agreement on the legislation that granted broad new powers to domestic law enforcement and international intelligence agencies to use wiretaps, electronic and computer eavesdropping, searches, and a wide range of other information-gathering techniques to investigate and prosecute domestic acts of terrorism.
Because the legislation also eliminated many checks and balances that courts previously used to ensure that such powers were not abused, critics say its passage dealt a large blow to Americans' civil liberties. The PATRIOT Act raises a valid question: whether the government's need for information outweighs an individual's right to privacy. And, as the administration seeks legislation that will expand the first act's broad intelligence and surveillance powers, this question must...