DAMMAM, 28 October — Americans now face the biggest dilemma of their lives — how to communicate freely and without risk? The anthrax scare has already restricted postal communications. And now in the hunt for terrorists, new legislation, signed by US President George W. Bush on Friday, expands the ability to monitor Internet usage and tap telephones. While law-enforcement authorities welcomed the legislation, civil libertarians expressed concern over the infringements of freedom to communicate, calling it an invasion of privacy.
The new legislation, named the Patriot Act, gives US federal authorities much wider latitude in monitoring Internet usage and sharing data among different agencies. Attorney General John Ashcroft immediately vowed to use the new powers to track down suspected terrorists; the act takes effect immediately.
The American Civil Liberties Union has criticized the legislation, warning it contains many provisions that could be used to violate the rights of law-abiding citizens.
Civil libertarians say the measure has been passed in haste and they are particularly concerned that the surveillance powers give law-enforcement authorities too much leeway to collect information not directly relevant to investigations.
Jerry Berman, executive director for the Center for Democracy and Technology (CDT), said, "The trouble with the bill is that it is too broad and it can apply not only to suspected terrorists but also to people and organizations that may be engaged in lawful actions."
Civil rights advocates have consistently cautioned against expanding surveillance powers unnecessarily, arguing that there is little evidence that tougher surveillance laws would have prevented the tragedy. The bill expands a "pen register" statute to include electronic communications and Internet usage.
The pen register previously referred to law-enforcement powers involving the tracing of telephone numbers called by suspected criminals. By including electronic communications, the statute now allows investigators to obtain wiretaps easily for Internet communication.
In addition, Internet service providers must make their services more wiretap-friendly for law-enforcement bodies. Though some provisions of the bill will expire in 2006, powers governing Internet surveillance will continue for an unspecified period. And this causes uneasiness among civil liberties organizations. They say that the "sunset provision" — providing that some clauses of the bill expire automatically within five years or would be reviewed — should apply to the entire bill.
Those opposed to the legislation say the administration is exploiting the terrorist attacks and curbing the very basic right of an individual to privacy in communications which is guaranteed in the US constitution. Cyber experts as well as human rights and civil liberties organizations say that before the attacks, federal authorities were pressing to ease restrictions on electronic surveillance.
The fear of future terrorist attacks has subdued protests against the bill. An American website claimed that although a majority of people in the United States were against such legislation, terrorists’ threats forced them to swallow the bitter pill. With ordinary mail being threatened by anthrax, the fear of Internet eavesdropping certainly undermines a very basic freedom among citizens of the United States. The US always protests against human rights violations but who will now protest these violations in the US itself?
