The Impact of the USA PATRIOT Act on Free Expression: An Update

A Free Expression Policy Project commentary in May, 2003 explained how enhanced surveillance powers granted under the USA PATRIOT Act and related measures license law enforcement officials to peer into Americans' most private reading, research, and communications. Not only do the Act’s hastily passed provisions violate the privacy rights of those using public libraries and bookstores; also they sweep aside constitutional checks and balances by authorizing intelligence agencies to gather information in situations that may be completely unconnected to a potential criminal proceeding. The commentary also pointed out that it is not clear that these enhanced investigative capabilities will make us safer, for under the new provisions, far more information is going to the same intelligence agencies that were failing to manage the ocean of information they collected prior to September 11. This essay updates that commentary, illuminating both recent attempts to overturn portions of the law and new attempts to monitor the everyday habits of citizens