USA Freedom Act
The USA Freedom Act is a significant piece of legislation in the United States that was signed into law on June 2, 2015, by President Barack Obama. This act aims to enhance national security while addressing privacy concerns raised by earlier laws, particularly the USA PATRIOT Act, which had allowed for extensive surveillance of American citizens' data without sufficient oversight. The Freedom Act specifically curtails the bulk collection of phone and internet metadata by government agencies like the NSA and FBI, limiting data access to individuals who are reasonably suspected of having terrorist connections and requiring warrants for data collection.
The act emerged in a context marked by heightened scrutiny of government surveillance practices, particularly following revelations by whistleblower Edward Snowden regarding the NSA's domestic spying operations. While the Freedom Act sought to strike a balance between civil liberties and national security, it faced opposition from some lawmakers who felt it did not go far enough in protecting individual privacy rights. Ultimately, the legislation reflects ongoing debates in American society about the trade-offs between security and privacy, highlighting the complexities of governing in a digital age.
USA Freedom Act
The USA Freedom Act, also known simply as the Freedom Act, is an American law allowing for the US federal government's covert collection of data from American citizens to intercept and stop terrorism and other criminal activity. Signed into law by President Barack Obama on June 2, 2015, the act reformed several aspects of the controversial USA PATRIOT Act, which had allowed for the bulk collection of Americans' phone and Internet data. Though the USA Freedom Act was still staunchly opposed by some members of the US Congress, it was generally praised for its efforts to fight terrorism while protecting American citizens' right to privacy. The act was reauthorized by Congress in 2020.
History of the Act
The USA Freedom Act was enacted almost fourteen years after the introduction of the USA PATRIOT Act. Congress passed the Freedom Act amid controversy, with objectors citing the law's retention of several components of the vastly unpopular USA PATRIOT Act of 2001.
The Freedom Act was based largely on various provisions of the USA PATRIOT Act, which was signed into law by President George W. Bush in 2001, following the September 11 terrorist attacks on the United States in that year. The act granted intelligence agencies such as the National Security Agency (NSA) and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) the authority to collect Americans' phone, Internet, medical, and financial data in bulk so it could be analyzed for possible connections to terrorism or other criminal activity.
Though the Bush administration supported the USA PATRIOT Act as an effective means of protecting US national security, the law was highly controversial in its allowance of the federal government essentially to spy on American citizens. Civil rights groups, such as the American Civil Liberties Union, protested the USA PATRIOT Act for granting the president too much access to the personal information of Americans. Nevertheless, President Bush renewed the USA PATRIOT Act in 2006, claiming it was helping the government prevent further terrorist attacks on American soil.
Road to the Freedom Act
The USA PATRIOT Act was set to expire in May 2011, but a frantic vote in Congress at the end of the month extended it for another four years. President Barack Obama signed the extension into law only hours later.
The USA PATRIOT Act, and the NSA in particular, became embroiled in national controversy in 2013, when former NSA contractor Edward Snowden publicized secret material concerning the federal government's domestic spying programs under the act. Snowden's most discussed revelation was the NSA's bulk collection of Americans' phone records and Internet data, which the government claimed was necessary to track terrorist activity.
The legality of the NSA's data collection remained a hotly debated issue for months. The subject arose again in early May 2015, when a federal appeals court ruled that the NSA's bulk data collection was unconstitutional. Meanwhile, Congress was preparing to vote to pass the USA Freedom Act. This law would reform the NSA and other intelligence agencies by eliminating or replacing the most controversial aspects of the USA PATRIOT Act, which was set to expire on June 1, 2015. President Obama supported the Freedom Act, saying it would protect both national security and American citizens' right to privacy.
Even with its proposed changes, however, the Freedom Act encountered fierce criticism in Congress during the voting periods in late May. This came especially from Republican senator Rand Paul, who staged a ten-and-a-half-hour filibuster—an extended speech designed to delay a legislature's vote on a bill—against the Freedom Act. Paul claimed the proposed law did not eliminate enough authority from the USA PATRIOT Act and that Americans' civil liberties were still in danger.
Paul's filibuster ultimately proved unsuccessful. The House of Representatives had already voted to pass the Freedom Act earlier in May, and the Senate voted to pass it on June 2, the day after the USA PATRIOT Act had expired. President Obama praised Congress for supporting the bill, and he signed the USA Freedom Act into law late on June 2, 2015.
Provisions of the Act
The Freedom Act deactivated two primary aspects of the USA PATRIOT Act. One was the NSA's and FBI's power to collect Americans' telephone and Internet metadata in bulk for the purposes of finding and tracking terrorist communications. This provision, the one declared unconstitutional in May 2015, was among the most unpopular allowances of the USA PATRIOT Act.
The other main aspect of the USA PATRIOT Act eliminated by the Freedom Act was the government's ability to collect all data from one large area of the country, such as an entire city or area code. Under the Freedom Act, intelligence organizations could still access Americans' personal data, but only of those individuals reasonably suspected of having terrorist connections. Furthermore, the NSA would need warrants from federal courts to collect and examine the data.
The law required phone companies and other private corporations to comply with government requests for data. However, these companies were now permitted to report publicly the number of government requests they received for these records. The federal government itself was also required to report its data-collection activities to ensure they fell within the range of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA).
At the same time, the government could still use roving wiretaps—secret traces that could follow a terror suspect on multiple devices, such as a cell phone and computer—and monitor lone wolf terror suspects, or suspicious individuals who had no known ties to official terrorist organizations. Finally, the Freedom Act raised the maximum penalty for providing material support to terrorism from fifteen to twenty years.
Bibliography
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Diamond, Jeremy. "Rand Paul Wraps 10-Hour 'Filibuster' over NSA Surveillance Program." CNN, 21 May 2015, www.cnn.com/2015/05/20/politics/rand-paul-filibuster-patriot-act-nsa-surveillance/. Accessed 30 Dec. 2024.
"George W. Bush Signs the Patriot Act." History.com, 2015, www.history.com/this-day-in-history/george-w-bush-signs-the-patriot-act. Accessed 30 Dec. 2024.
“H.R. 6172-USA FREEDOM Reauthorization Act of 2020.” Congress, 2020, www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/house-bill/6172. Accessed 30 Dec. 2024.
Kelly, Erin. "Senate Approves USA Freedom Act." USA Today, 2 June 2015, www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2015/06/02/patriot-act-usa-freedom-act-senate-vote/28345747/. Accessed 30 Dec. 2024.
"Patriot Act Extension Signed into Law Despite Bipartisan Resistance in Congress." Washington Post, 27 May 2011, www.washingtonpost.com/politics/patriot-act-extension-signed-into-law-despite-bipartisan-resistance-in-congress/2011/05/27/AGbVlsCH‗story.html. Accessed 30 Dec. 2024.
"USA Freedom Act: What's In, What's Out." Washington Post, 2 June 2015, www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/politics/usa-freedom-act/. Accessed 30 Dec. 2024.