Some Americans will find this increased surveillance re-assuring. Some will find it frightening.
http://www.webtechniques.com/daily
Monday, November 19
2:38 PM | Bryan Mason
Under the Radar
The USA PATRIOT Act or “Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism” Act was passed on October 24 with almost no press coverage or public debate.
The 342 pages and 1,016 sections of the newly-signed law make the following provisions: Any federal employee who works for the executive branch can monitor the electronic communications of any individual or group that is relevant to any federal case. This includes not only FBI, NSA or CIA, but all cabinet departments, the park service and anybody who ultimately reports to the President. And it needn’t be relevant to terrorism.
So, the Secretary of Agriculture and the Secretary of the Interior can now spy on your Google searches and Academy Award nominee Marsha Mason (The Goodbye Girl) can now require Earthlink to grant her access to your email. (She works for the National Endowment for the Arts these days)
Some Americans will find this increased surveillance re-assuring. Some will find it frightening. The Electronic Frontier Foundation has a great analysis of the new law: