The Fourth Amendment vs. the USA PATRIOT Act

1. The Fourth Amendment vs. the USA PATRIOT Act David Parez

2. Fourth Amendment • “Right of the people to be secure in their persons…” • Originally written with illegal British searches in mind • Protects US citizens against unreasonable searches and seizures • Requires warrants for searches

3. USA PATRIOT Act • Formally known as: Uniting and Strengthening America by…. Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001

4. PATRIOT Act • Signed in to law in October, 2001 by Bush • Key sections extended in May, 2011 by Obama • Aimed to address newfound culture of terrorism • Removed many restrictions on law enforcement agencies to investigate possible terrorists • Introduced concept of “domestic terrorism” • No longer needs to be a foreign enemy

5. PATRIOT Act, Title II • Title II of the PATRIOT Act introduced new surveillance procedures • Sneak and peak warrants (delayed warning on a search warrant) • Roving wiretaps (no court order to follow a suspect through wiretaps) • Access to documents on citizens (organizations must produce any documents that the government requests) • Most controversial section of the PATRIOT Act

6. 2011 Extensions of the PATRIOT Act • President Obama extended key sections of the PATRIOT Act in 2011 • Roving wiretaps • Searches of business records • Surveillance of suspected terror suspects

7. National Security Agency • Formed November 4th, 1952 • Private company funded and led by the federal government • Employ civilian workers • Tasked with monitoring foreign communications • Protects domestic communication systems

8. Edward Snowden • 30 years old (born June 21st, 1983) • Discharged from US Army Spec Ops after training accident • Technical consultant at Booz Allen Hamilton • Previously worked with CIA and NSA • Earned salaries between $122,000 and $200,000

9. Glenn Greenwald • Political journalist working for US edition of The Guardian • Has spoken at numerous Ivy League schools, as well as University of Wisconsin • Board member of Freedom of the Press Foundation • Author of How Would a Patriot Act?

10. The Breach • Snowden used his various jobs to collect a large amount of information on NSA data collection • Working for Booz Allen Hamilton was a significant resource • Edward Snowden began contacting Glenn Greenwald in February, 2013 • Washington Post and Snowden could not agree to terms, so Snowden turned to The Guardian • Used email codename “Verax” (Latin for “truth-teller)

11. The Breach • June 5th:The Guardian revealed that the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court ordered Verizon to provide constant data regarding all telephone calls to, from, or within the United States • June 6th:the existence of PRISM was leaked • Established in 2007 • Electronic surveillance program • Took advantage of communications flowing through United States

12. PRISM Collection Data

13. The Breach • June 9th: Existence of Boundless Informant leaked • Database of computer and telephone data • June 20th: Documents revealed that Attorney General Eric Holder signed off on NSA activities • June 23rd: Snowden said NSA regularly hacked Chinese phone companies, universities, and other networks to gather data on text messages and calls

14. Boundless Informant Data Map

15. Aftermath of Leak • Snowden has been fleeing from country to country for most of June • Most foreign nations unwilling to cooperate with US government • Hong Kong, China, Russia • Many nations aim to stay uninvolved in the case

16. Repercussions of Leak • Biggest leak in history of the NSA • Government has filed charges against Snowden under the Espionage Act • Same law used in 2010 to charge Americans with assisting WikiLeaks in largest leak in US history • American Civil Liberties Union has sued the government over NSA surveillance • Keith Alexander, director of the NSA, claimed that Snowden’s leaks would cost American lives

17. Reaction to Leak • Michael Moore, Glenn Beck, and Ron Paul have all voiced their support for Snowden • WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has praised Snowden and rallied supporters • Bloomberg points out that the programs targeted by NSA surveillance are most likely not used by terrorists • Skype, Facebook, online messaging services

18. Reaction to Leak • Public reaction is very divided • 44% of Americans support Snowden, while 42% oppose what he did • 54% favor prosecution, 38% against • 49% find information in interest of public, 44% believe information was harmful • Protests around the world, especially in Hong Kong, show support for Snowden

19. What does all of this mean? • USA PATRIOT Act has stretched in its authority since its entrance into law • Originally meant to track terrorists • Seems to be interpreted in unconstitutional manner • 4th Amendment has lost much of its meaning and many of its protections • Americans are realizing the consequences of the PATRIOT Act • Are Snowden’s actions still illegal if the government’s activities were unconstitutional?

20. What does all of this mean? • Tradeoff between liberty and security has tilted towards security • How much of our personal freedom are we willing to give up in exchange for national security? • Dangerous level of American indifference • In a time where global unrest has seen protests in so many major nations, the American public seems very indifferent about the issue

21. Closing • Has the USA PATRIOT Act taken too much of our personal security away in exchange for national security? "The greatest fear that I have regarding the outcome for America of these disclosures is that nothing will change."  • Edward Snowden

22. Sources • The Guardian • The Washington Post • Yahoo! News • Gallup • Bloomberg.com