Tag: America

The USA Freedom Act: A Major Reform to the Patriot Act

Written on June 4, 2015.

Recently, the United States Senate acted to end the bulk collection of Americans communications records by passing THE USA FREEDOM ACT (H.R. 2048). In a 67-32 vote the Senate agreed with civil libertarians and the American Association of Law Libraries (“AALL”) who feared that section 215 of The Patriot Act violated the privacy rights of library users and all Americans. AALL’s Washington Blawg agrees in its post on June 2. The Blawg explained that “under the legislation, all...

The Patriot Act and Section 215

Written on May 20, 2015.

In the wake of the 9/11 attack on the World Trade Center twin towers, the Patriot Act was signed into law by President George W. Bush on October 26, 2011. Its purpose was to provide the federal government with the authority that it needed to forestall acts of domestic terrorism through heightened surveillance; to include physical, and all electronic means of communications in which Americans engage. While helping our government to prevent mass acts of terrorism in the intervening years, we now...