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Which parts of federal law did the USA PATRIOT Act change?
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USA PATRIOT Act
Pres. George W. Bush signing the USA PATRIOT Act in the East Room of the White House, Washington, D.C., October 26, 2001.
The USA PATRIOT Act, signed into law in 2001, significantly expanded federal surveillance and investigative powers by amending several existing statutes. Key areas of federal law affected include:
- Privacy and Communications: The act amended the Wiretap Act to include computer and terrorist crimes as offenses justifying government eavesdropping. It also lowered privacy protections for voice mail and expanded the government's ability to obtain subscriber records, such as bank and credit card numbers, via subpoena.1
- Surveillance Authority: It modified the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA). Notably, it allowed for "roving" surveillance, permitted the collection of "any tangible things" (including business records) with a court order, and lowered the threshold for surveillance to require only that foreign intelligence collection be a "significant purpose" rather than the primary one.1
- Law Enforcement Cooperation: The act facilitated information sharing between intelligence and law enforcement agencies by allowing the disclosure of secret grand jury matters.1
- Financial and Border Security: It increased the Treasury Department's powers to combat money laundering and expanded border patrol and immigration enforcement capabilities.1
The act also created new terrorist-related crimes and increased penalties for existing offenses.1