New Patriot Act Bills Stir Controversy

14 Jun, 2004 at 10:36am ET Article published in Tech

While activists and politicians work to repeal or change parts of the Patriot Act that they say violate constitutional rights, Patriot Act II legislation — which caused a stir when it came to light last year — is rearing its head again in a new bill making its way through Congress.

The bill would strengthen laws that let the FBI demand that businesses hand over confidential records about patrons by assigning stiff penalties (up to five years in prison) to anyone who discloses that the FBI made the demand. The bill would also let the FBI compel businesses to cooperate with record requests, and it would expand the government’s secret surveillance powers over noncitizens in the United States.

I work in law enforcement, and this scares the heck out of me. -KF

Source: Wired

Comments

14 Jun 2004 ~ 5:15pm BlackHawk :shakehead
14 Jun 2004 ~ 5:17pm TheBaron so if the FBI asks me for documents and I give them, and then the cops ask me where my documents are and I tell them, I go to jail??

wtf, thats just not cool
14 Jun 2004 ~ 5:42pm Cyclonite ^ I think you'll go to jail either way. Figure out which sentence will be less. Heh.

BTW, I think this is total BS.
14 Jun 2004 ~ 5:49pm Straight_Man

TheBaron wrote:

so if the FBI asks me for documents and I give them, and then the cops ask me where my documents are and I tell them, I go to jail??

wtf, thats just not cool

Refer the cops to the FBI-- do not tell cops you gave FBI docs, simply say FBI asked that all questions in this matter be referred to them.... Hmmm.... Methinks this goes a bit too far (deliberate understatement of year for me to make).
14 Jun 2004 ~ 5:52pm Jimborae The UK already has this built into the Data Protection Act 1998. However the penalties for an unauthourised disclosure, about you disclosing some persons personal deails to the authorities, are far less servere. I think its a fine & i dont know of any case brought by the authorites in the UK yet.