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The impact of the USA PATRIOT Act on a particular records manager or records management program depends largely on the industry in which it operates
With 16 of its provisions, including several key ones, set to expire at the end of the year, the USA PATRIOT Act - enacted in 2001 in reaction to the worst terrorist attack in U.S. history - is the subject of much media attention and heated discussion. The controversy, however, has done little to explain the legislation's impact on records and information management (RIM), dispel the myths surrounding what certain provisions of the act actually do, or shed light on how information professionals can comply with its provisions in their working environments.
While the PATRIOT Act does not necessarily have a direct impact on RIM in all industries, it has a profound impact in certain key sectors. Communications providers - including many cable, phone, and Internet providers - as well as banking and financial institutions, libraries, and even precious metals, gems, and jewelry dealers have all had their business recordkeeping affected to some degree by this law.
Key Provisions
Among the provisions of the act that have had an impact on RIM in various sectors of the U.S. economy are the following:
* Section 204 - allows stored voice mail communications to be obtained by a search warrant rather than by having to meet the more stringent wiretap requirements. However, messages on an answering machine tape are not accessible through this provision.
* Section 210 - expands the type of information that an electronic communications provider must disclose. This could include records of session times and duration, temporarily assigned network addresses, and means of payment, and it is not limited to investigations of suspected terrorist activity.
* Section 211 - makes cable companies that provide telephone or Internet services subject to existing laws that cover telecommunications providers and Internet service providers (ISPs). This directly affects records managers who work for cable providers, where the impact of the PATRIOT Act has been strongly felt.
* Section 215 - allows the government to seek a court order to obtain personal records such as library, financial, phone, travel, and medical records. This is done by amending the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act...