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Balancing Security and Preserving Civil Liberties

Instructions: Your initial post should be at least 350 words(700). Please respond to at least 2 other students. Responses should be a minimum of 150 words and include direct questions.

Responses Due: Sunday, by 11:55pm, ET 

jacob mann

What are the primary initiatives implemented as a result of the PATRIOT Act, their impact upon civil liberties, and whether steps taken in the USA Freedom Act addressed them in an effective manner.

The primary initiatives of the patriot act are to “allow investigators to use the tools that were already available to investigate organized crime and drug trafficking, facilitated information sharing and cooperation among government agencies so that they can better "connect the dots.", updated the law to reflect new technologies and new threats, and increased the penalties for those who commit terrorist crimes.” (The USA, 2017).

Some parts of the patriot act allowed the NSA to collect the phone record of every American in the United States. This is a direct impact on their civil liberty of the right to privacy. The NSA was collecting phone records in search of potential terrorist acts after the September 11th attack in 2001. There were several steps taken in the USA Freedom act that ended the mass collection of phone records for the NSA. It was voted against by several senators that said it would leave us vulnerable to a terrorist attack but was fought against that it infringed upon our rights as a citizen to privacy.

1. The use of encryption in cell phones and the inability by counterterrorism agencies to access such information was highlighted in the aftermath of the San Bernardino, CA attacks. Regarding this issue, do you feel access to such information is an infringement on one's civil liberties? How do you believe government can best balance security and civil liberties regarding this and related issues? 

If one is encrypting their cell phone it is because they do not want someone to see or be able to access the information in that device. Such as bank information, private text messages, or even company information. These devices can be hacked by other companies looking for information and people are starting to encrypt their personal devices. The only way to not infringe upon someone’s civil liberties when gaining access to their personal information is to have the intelligence and proof that they are attempting to commit an act upon the United States and its people. This would only be possible if they have all of the proof that they would need to convict a person of potential terroristic acts. Otherwise they would again be infringing upon an innocent persons freedom of privacy. If the government would use its own strategy of intelligence led operations this would help in not infringing upon the American peoples civil liberties and help to convict more potential terrorists. What is your opinion.

Resources

The USA PATRIOT Act: Preserving Life and Liberty. (n.d.). Retrieved July 25, 2017, from https://www.justice.gov/archive/ll/highlights.htm

Jeffery Crane

Balancing Security and Preserving Civil Liberties Learning outcome: After completing this forum discussion, you will be able to recognize the arguments for and against threats to our civil liberties. Hide Full Description

This week’s readings discussed the dichotomy that exists between providing for security and preserving civil liberties. The readings further examined the Department of Homeland Security and its ability to respond to future threats facing our nation. Applying and analyzing the information you gathered from both assigned readings and personal research, offer the following information:

1.What are the primary initiatives implemented as a result of the PATRIOT Act, their impact upon civil liberties, and whether steps taken in the USA Freedom Act addressed them in an effective manner.

The Act enabled investigators to investigate terrorism-related crimes, including: CBRNE, WMD, killing Americans abroad, and terrorism financing. Therefore, federal courts in narrow circumstances long have allowed law enforcement to delay for a limited time when the subject is told that a judicially-approved search warrant has been executed. Under the Patriot Act, the government can now ask a federal court (the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court), if needed to aid an investigation, to order production of the same type of records available through grand jury subpoenas. This federal court, however, can issue these orders only after the government demonstrates the records concerned are sought for an authorized investigation to obtain foreign intelligence information not concerning a U.S. person or to protect against international terrorism or clandestine intelligence activities, provided that such investigation of a U.S. person is not conducted solely on the basis of activities protected by the First Amendment. The Act removed the legal barriers that prevented the LE, INTEL, & Defense communities from coordinating to protect the Americans our national security. The Act allows warrants in any district in which terrorism-related activities occurred, regardless of where they will be executed. This provision does not change the standards governing the availability of a search warrant, but streamlines the search-warrant process. Now, hacking victims can seek law enforcement assistance to combat hackers, just as burglary victims have been able to invite officers into their homes to catch burglars. The Act created a new offense that prohibits knowingly harboring persons who have committed or are about to commit a variety of terrorist offenses, such as: destruction of aircraft; use of CBRNE weapons; use of WMD; bombing Gov’t property; sabotaging nuclear facilities; and aircraft piracy. Enhanced maximum penalties for crimes frequently committed by terrorists: including arson, destruction of energy facilities, material support to terrorists and terrorist organizations, and destruction of national-defense materials. Enhanced conspiracy penalties for arson, killings in federal facilities, attacking communications systems, material support to terrorists, sabotage of nuclear facilities, and interference with flight crew members. Under previous law, many terrorism statutes did not specifically prohibit engaging in conspiracies to commit the underlying offenses. In such cases, the government could only bring prosecutions under the general federal conspiracy provision, which carries a maximum penalty of only five years in prison. It also punished terror attacks on Mass transit systems; Bioterrorism; Eliminates the statutes of limitations on certain terrorism crimes and lengthens them for other terrorist crimes.

The USA Freedom Act changed the law to allow the following:

The first change is to prohibit bulk collection of business records. It also prohibits bulk collection under the FISA Pen Register/Trap & Trace Device Authority & National Security Letter authorities. It creates a targeted program that allows the Intel Community to collect non-content call records from phone providers only thru prior approval of the FISA Court. The queries are limited to 2 Hops and governed by the FISA Court.

Prevents Government Overreach. It strengthens the “Specific Selection Term,” the bulk collection prohibition. It ensures the Gov’t can collect info for National Security Investigations, while prohibiting indiscriminate collection from such as a state, city or zip code.

Strengthens Civil Liberty protections. It creates an expert panel to advise the FIS Court on Civil Liberty, Privacy, Communications, Legal & technical matters. It further clarifies procedures for National Security Letters recipients the ability to challenge nondisclosure requests.

Increases Transparency. All significant FISA Court opinions will be declassified and certified legal questions will be reviewed by the FISA & Supreme Courts. Also, the Attorney General & the Director of National Intelligence are required to release to the public how the national security authorities are used & more transparency from the US Tech companies that are involved.

Protects National Security.  The Act closes loopholes that make it more difficult for the Federal Government to track foreign terrorists and spies entering or departing the country. It clarifies the FISA for foreign targets who facilitate the International proliferation of WMD, increasing the maximum penalties for material support of a foreign terrorist organization and extending the Patriot Act provisions to December 2019.  

2. The use of encryption in cell phones and the inability by counterterrorism agencies to access such information was highlighted in the aftermath of the San Bernardino, CA attacks. Regarding this issue, do you feel access to such information is an infringement on one's civil liberties? How do you believe government can best balance security and civil liberties regarding this and related issues?  It is my opinion that if it has been confirmed that an individual has committed these type of crimes, then any sort of civil liberties were abandoned. Especially if the individual is deceased! I feel that they have forfeited any rights to privacy after committing these types of crimes! Just like the scanners in the airports. I don’t have any problems with the idea, even if it appears that the person looks nude in the screen! I understand the backlash, but we’re trying to prevent more terrorism!

Jeff