USA PATRIOT Act

ALSO CALLED: Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001, Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001, USA-PATRIOT, Terrorism Act of 2001, USAPA, and Patriot Act
DEFINITION: The Patriot Act (the full name is the USA Patriot Act, or "Unitingand Strengthening America Act by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001") was enacted by the U.S. Congress on October 26, 2001, at the request of President George Bush in response to the terrorist acts of September 11. It gives controversial new powers to the Justice Department in terms  … 
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USA PATRIOT ACT DEFINITION (continued): …  of domestic and international surveillance of American citizens and others within its jurisdiction. According to its sponsors, the Act was needed to address a situation that had not existed before - the presence of terrorists within national borders - and the need to apprehend and prosecute them, hopefully before rather than after they acted. Opponents of the Act, including the Electronic Frontier Foundation and the American Civil Liberties Union, say that the Act has undone previous checks on civil liberty abuses of the past and unnecessarily endangers privacy and discourages free speech.Among … 
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