September 11, 2001 Terrorist Attack
The catalyst for the USA PATRIOT Act occurred on September 11, 2001 when terrorists attacked New York City and caused the destruction of the World Trade Center. In response President George W. Bush declared a War on Terror and soon thereafter Senators from both sides of politics started working on legislation that would give law enforcement greater powers and to prevent and investigate terrorism in the United States.
According to The Washington Post, Viet Dinh — who was then the Assistant Attorney General of the United States — started work on measures to increase the authority of Federal Agencies, reportedly based upon the understanding that "he charge was very, very clear: 'all that is necessary for law enforcement, within the bounds of the Constitution, to discharge the obligation to fight this war against terror.' " Simultaneously, Jim Dempsey of the Center for Democracy and Technology (CDT), expressed concerns that civil liberties might be trampled in the rush to push through legislation. According to Dempsey, it was hard enough to get their attention, but " you some members of the House and Senate were, 'Don't bother me with the details.' " Various interested parties, including the CDT, the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC), closely scrutinised and critiqued the various proposed bills leading to the final Act, as well as the Act itself once passed.
Read more about this topic: History Of The USA PATRIOT Act
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