USA Patriot Act

The USA Patriot Act
After the World Trade Center and U.S. pentagon were attacked, Congress enacted the Patriot Act on October 26th, 2001. Its central purpose was to give FBI agents more jurisdiction in intercepting and investigating possible terrorist threats or attacks. It is these changes in surveillance capabilities in particular that have created tension with civil libertarians.

Authorization of Roving Surveillance
Law enforcement agencies now have the ability to engage in roving surveillance, which means conducting surveillance without a showing of probable cause. Prior to the enactment of the Patriot Act, the government could only use wiretaps (monitoring phone lines) on condition that they present sufficient proof to a court, that the target to be monitored is using the line to be tapped. Now, under section 206 of the Patriot Act, the FBI or CIA no longer needs judiciary consent or proof that the target to be monitored is using the line. As stated by the EFF (Electronic Fro...