Patriot Act Used Against Hackers, Thieves
from the wait-a-second... dept
The broad surveillance powers of the PATRIOT act were designed to catch terrorists, but the latest report on how it's being used shows that the government is taking advantage of the greater power to spy on hackers and identity thieves. Not that I have anything against catching scammers and identity thieves, but I think that there are reasonable ways to do so within previously existing laws - going through a standard process that includes much more accountability on the part of authorities. The system as it is now leaves open too many areas for abuse - and it's clearly being used beyond the scope of the original intent of the law.
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