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The Patriot Act, By George W. Bush Signed The Uniting And Strengthening America Act

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THE PATRIOT ACT On October 26, 2001, George W. Bush signed the Uniting and Strengthening America Act by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001, better known as the Patriot Act, into law (“USA Patriot Act”). This act gave the National Security Agency and the US Department of justice the power to monitor domestic and international electronic communications. The goal of the act was to give federal and local agencies the power to monitor communications in order to prevent a terrorist attack. With the Patriot Act in effect, agencies could easily share information with each other without any restrictions. While the original intent was to allow federal agencies to monitor communications networks, the wording granted local agencies the same power. The Patriot Act was used to conduct domestic criminal investigations as well as counterterrorism operations. It was intended to be used as a way to prevent a major terrorist attack, but the Patriot Act had some controversial sections that gave the government certain powers. Title 2 of the Patriot Act expanded the government’s surveillance program and gave them the power to circumvent legal regulations in order to obtain information. As a result, the government was able intercept internet communications and conduct roving wiretaps. Roving wiretaps were especially controversial because the government was given the ability to monitor devices without specifying the device to be tapped (“USA

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