Hastily passed 45 days after 9/11 in the name of national security, the patriot act was the first of many changes to surveillance laws that made it easier for the government to spy on ordinary americans by expanding the authority to monitor phone and email communications, collect bank and credit reporting records, and track the activity of innocent americans on the internet. while most americans think it was created to catch terrorists, the patriot act actually turns regular citizens into suspects. .

under the patriot act, national security letters (nsls) are issued by fbi agents, without a judge's approval, to obtain personal information, including phone records, computer records, credit history, and banking history.

between 2003 and 2006, the fbi issued 192,499 nsls, which led to one terror-related conviction. the conviction would have occurred even without the patriot act.

this passage about surveillance under the patriot act was written by the
supreme court
justice department
> aclu

they are most concerned about
> protecting citizen's rights
catching terrorists
lowering crime rates

the author of this document the patriot act.
supports
> opposes
is neutral about