The Patriot Act, passed shortly after 9/11, was designed in part to make it easier for the government to monitor suspected terrorists. However, it had been under a great deal of scrutiny by critics who think it gives the government too much power to gather information. One of those criticisms involved the ability to secretly search information ISPs (Internet service providers) and phone companies have about their customers. The American Civil Liberties Union sued, claiming that these expanded privileges violate the Forth Amendment. Yesterday a U.S. District Judge agreed, ruling the powers unconstitutional.

Read more here [CNN].

This entry was posted by jack () on Thursday, September 30th, 2004 at 11:47 am and is filed under Government Programs. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

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