Close
  • Latest News
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
Read Down
Sign in
Close
Welcome!Log into your account
Forgot your password?
Read Down
Password recovery
Recover your password
Close
Search
Logo
Logo
  • Latest News
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
More
    Home Cybersecurity
    • Cybersecurity

    Patriot Act Hits Rocky Road to Renewal

    By
    Caron Carlson
    -
    November 21, 2005
    Share
    Facebook
    Twitter
    Linkedin

      The course that congressional leaders followed last week to extend controversial domestic spying powers of the USA Patriot Act was never animated on “Schoolhouse Rock” or taught in high school civics classes. A considerable stretch of the Patriot Act IIs path to law lay behind closed doors among a small group of lawmakers accompanied by advisers from the White House.

      For American businesses that face rising costs in complying with an exploding volume of FBI surveillance orders since the passage of the USA Patriot Act in 2001, last weeks secretive bout of law crafting added to the feelings of defenselessness that they say the act inspires. Manufacturers, banks, real estate companies, bookstores and other businesses succeeded earlier in the fall in persuading the Senate to restore some checks and balances to the FBIs powers, but that effort came head to head with the administrations determination to further bolster those powers.

      Businesses and privacy-rights advocates want foremost to dissuade the FBI from conducting unlimited, indefinite or unwarranted searches of ordinary Americans. Recent reports suggest that the FBI now issues tens of thousands of NSLs (National Security Letters)—orders for a wide variety of records, issued unilaterally without any judicial review—annually, compared with a few hundred annually prior to the terrorist attacks of 2001.

      “They have become the weapon of choice by the administration to conduct fishing expeditions,” said Bob Barr, a former Republican representative from Georgia, about NSLs. “Its simply a matter of filling in a couple of blanks. Its an extraordinary power that has become ordinary behind closed doors.”

      Senators unanimously voted this fall to return the FBI search standard to the pre-Patriot Act level, requiring that the government show a connection between the records and a suspect. The Senate also voted to modify the gag order that accompanies FBI demands and give recipients the right to challenge them.

      House and Senate conferees in closed sessions last week eliminated those safeguards, however. The conferees agreed to give NSL recipients the right to challenge a gag order, but if the government asserts an interest in national security, the court must accept it as conclusive. Critics said this change could be a greater threat to civil rights because it creates an illusion of protection. “It makes some nods to checks and balances and then takes things away,” said Lisa Graves, senior counsel for legislative strategy for the New York-based American Civil Liberties Union. “Youre given a right to challenge that means nothing.”

      The bill that conferees agreed to would require the FBI to submit a statement of facts showing why records are relevant to an investigation. Making things tougher on businesses, however, is that it created criminal penalties for anyone failing to comply with an NSL.

      As the House and Senate prepared to vote on the conference bill late last week, three Republican and three Democratic senators—who authored the original Senate bill—threatened to stop the measure if civil rights safeguards were not returned to it.

      Caron Carlson

      MOST POPULAR ARTICLES

      Cybersecurity

      Visa’s Michael Jabbara on Cybersecurity and Digital...

      James Maguire - May 17, 2022 0
      I spoke with Michael Jabbara, VP and Global Head of Fraud Services at Visa, about the cybersecurity technology used to ensure the safe transfer...
      Read more
      Cloud

      Yotascale CEO Asim Razzaq on Controlling Multicloud...

      James Maguire - May 5, 2022 0
      Asim Razzaq, CEO of Yotascale, provides guidance on understanding—and containing—the complex cost structure of multicloud computing. Among the topics we covered:  As you survey the...
      Read more
      Big Data and Analytics

      GoodData CEO Roman Stanek on Business Intelligence...

      James Maguire - May 4, 2022 0
      I spoke with Roman Stanek, CEO of GoodData, about business intelligence, data as a service, and the frustration that many executives have with data...
      Read more
      IT Management

      Intuit’s Nhung Ho on AI for the...

      James Maguire - May 13, 2022 0
      I spoke with Nhung Ho, Vice President of AI at Intuit, about adoption of AI in the small and medium-sized business market, and how...
      Read more
      Applications

      Cisco’s Thimaya Subaiya on Customer Experience in...

      James Maguire - May 10, 2022 0
      I spoke with Thimaya Subaiya, SVP and GM of Global Customer Experience at Cisco, about the factors that create good customer experience – and...
      Read more
      Logo

      eWeek has the latest technology news and analysis, buying guides, and product reviews for IT professionals and technology buyers. The site’s focus is on innovative solutions and covering in-depth technical content. eWeek stays on the cutting edge of technology news and IT trends through interviews and expert analysis. Gain insight from top innovators and thought leaders in the fields of IT, business, enterprise software, startups, and more.

      Facebook
      Linkedin
      RSS
      Twitter
      Youtube

      Advertisers

      Advertise with TechnologyAdvice on eWeek and our other IT-focused platforms.

      Advertise with Us

      Menu

      • About eWeek
      • Subscribe to our Newsletter
      • Latest News

      Our Brands

      • Privacy Policy
      • Terms
      • About
      • Contact
      • Advertise
      • Sitemap
      • California – Do Not Sell My Information

      Property of TechnologyAdvice.
      © 2021 TechnologyAdvice. All Rights Reserved

      Advertiser Disclosure: Some of the products that appear on this site are from companies from which TechnologyAdvice receives compensation. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site including, for example, the order in which they appear. TechnologyAdvice does not include all companies or all types of products available in the marketplace.

      ×