Initially, the first bill to pass was the Patriot Act, and just like in any major governmental crisis, it greatly expanded governmental authority. The Government petitioned the FISA court, which is a secret court that came out the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, to have a warrant to search for tangible things related to terrorism or foreign spies. This particular wording was used as a loophole to confiscate the data of almost every American. In order to search for spies or terrorists, the government would have to know the identities in the first place, and since it did not, it would have to search every person. Through these secret court orders, telephone companies like Verizon were forced to hand over its information relating to users of the phone company. The Patriot act had a clause that allowed the government to collect metadata on millions of Americans. The new freedom act removes Section 215 of the Patriot Act; this reform prevents the government from collecting telephone metadata on millions of Americans, instead the government would need to get a warrant on a particular person (Diamond). Along with bulk collection of metadata, the government has lost its ability to collection certain business records and track certain individuals “who aren’t necessarily a part of an organized terror …show more content…
Many users on the internet distrust communication, sharing, and storing in fear of government surveillance. Many cannot express their will freely because they are aware the government will be supervising their data. If people know that there is a government data base that records information and stores every search or call, this poses a chilling effect for their free speech. The large amounts of data removes a person’s ability to move on from past experiences if it can be recalled (Schneier 2015). The 3rd amendment has been interpreted by courts that there would be privacy of the home; there is no privacy because individuals are constantly monitored. United States v US District Court in the Supreme Court Case of 1972 unanimously upheld that the majority “must not be a dread of subjection to an checked surveillance power” according to Justice Powell (York 13). Writers are less likely to express their ideas knowing the government is supervising them. Surveillance regimes in places like China, Iran, and Russia have narrowed the ideas and discourse that is surrounding society. The United States is slowly following in the steps authoritarian regimes through surveillance policies. People are afraid to discuss military affairs, drug laws, pornography, Middle East involvement, and government policies. While the American people can express their ideas, the idea