USA PATRIOT Act
Government & Politics abbreviation · US Law
| Stands for | Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act |
|---|---|
| Categories | Government & Politics |
USA PATRIOT Act stands for Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act, a US law abbreviation.
Counterterrorism law passed six weeks after the September 11 attacks that expanded government surveillance and investigative powers, including roving wiretaps, access to business records and delayed-notice searches, and strengthened anti-money-laundering rules.
Example: Civil liberties groups criticized how Section 215 of the USA PATRIOT Act was used to collect phone records.
Usage notes
President George W. Bush signed it on October 26, 2001; it is usually called the Patriot Act. Edward Snowden's 2013 disclosures showed that Section 215 had been used for bulk collection of Americans' phone metadata, which the USA FREEDOM Act of 2015 ended. Section 215 itself lapsed in March 2020.
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