patriot act

news analysis The U.S. Congress has approved a four-year extension of the Patriot Act despite warnings from senators that the Justice Department has twisted the 2001 law into a "secret" surveillance mechanism far broader than Americans realize.

"I believe that when more of my colleagues and the American public come to understand how the Patriot Act has actually been interpreted in secret, they will insist on significant reforms too," said Sen. Ron Wyden, an Oregon Democrat who tried to block the renewal. Sen. Mark Udall, a Colorado Democrat, offered a similar warning.

The cautionary note … Read more

Nearly 10 years ago, Osama bin Laden changed the way many of us lived.

The coordinated suicide attacks on September 11, 2001, began what would become known as the War on Terror. They led directly to the invasion of Afghanistan and the formation of the Department of Homeland Security, and indirectly to the Guantanamo Bay prison and a rise in government centralization and secrecy.

What's not as obvious is how al Qaeda's attacks, at least in technology and political circles, shifted the discussion from protecting electronic privacy to facilitating government surveillance.

Bin Laden was killed yesterday in Pakistan … Read more

Eric Holder, President-elect Barack Obama's pick for attorney general, drew applause from liberal Democrats earlier this year when he denounced the Bush administration's warrantless wiretapping program.

A review of Holder's public statements, speeches, and testimony when he was a top Justice Department official in the Clinton administration, however, reveals a more nuanced record on privacy. His remarks indicate support for laws mandating Internet traceability, limits on domestic use of encryption, and more restrictions on free speech online. He also called for new powers for federal prosecutors, some of which became law under President Bush as part of … Read more

The FBI has backed down on a secret request for information about a user of the Internet Archive digital library, thanks to a legal challenge from two prominent advocacy groups.

The case, which was brought by the Electronic Frontier Foundation and the American Civil Liberties Union on behalf of the archive, dates to last year but only became public on Wednesday. That's because the type of request involved, known as a national security letter (NSL), is accompanied by a gag order that forbids the recipient from disclosing its existence or discussing it with anyone except his attorneys, who are … Read more

NEW YORK--The FBI's top lawyer defended the Patriot Act on Wednesday, saying the bureau's increased powers are vital to aiding investigations into attacks such as the London subway bombing.

FBI general counsel Valerie Caproni said during a conference at New York University's law school that the 2001 changes to the Patriot Act involving national security letters (NSLs) were crucial to accessing phone records. NSLs are subpoena-like orders that the FBI can use to obtain information about companies' customers.

(Disclosure: I spoke also at the conference, titled "Privacy in the Age of National Security," later that … Read more

President Bush's nominee to replace departing Attorney General Alberto Gonzales has a history of sticking up for the electronic-surveillance powers expanded by the controversial USA Patriot Act.

That's one of the tidbits about retired federal judge Michael Mukasey that the White House is playing up--in boldface type, no less--as part of a fact sheet distributed as the president announced his pick Monday.

Mukasey, a Reagan appointee with 18 years of experience as a district judge in New York, aired an apparently pro-Patriot Act position in a 2004 op-ed for The Wall Street Journal, suggesting that the law gave … Read more