USA PATRIOT Act, Title V
Encyclopedia
Title V: Removing obstacles to investigating terrorism is the fifth of ten titles which comprise the USA PATRIOT Act
, an anti-terrorism bill passed in the United States
after the September 11, 2001 attacks. It contains 8 sections regarding the capture and prosecution of terrorists.
Section 502 amended the State Department Basic Authorities Act of 1956 to allow the Department of State to offer rewards, in consultation with the Attorney General, for the full or significant dismantling of any terrorist organiZation and to identify any key leaders of terrorist organizations. It also amended the Act to give the Secretary of State authority to pay greater than $5 million if the Secretary determines it would prevent terrorist actions against the United States.
primarily allows U.S. States carry out DNA
analyses for use in the FBI's Combined DNA Index System
and to collect and analyse DNA samples of violent and sexual offenders. Section 3 of the Act mandates the collection of DNA samples of Federal prisoners who were convicted of murder
, sexual abuse
, child sexual abuse
, involvement in sex trafficking, peonage and slavery
, kidnapping
, robbery
or burglary
; or for any military offense against the Uniform Code of Military Justice
for which a sentence of confinement for more than one year may be imposed. Section 503 of the Patriot Act amended the DNA Analysis Backlog Elimination Act to include terrorism or crimes of violence in the list of qualifying Federal offenses.
(FISA) specifies how foreign intelligence information acquired by Federal officers using electronic surveillance may be used. Section 305 of FISA specifies how foreign intelligence information acquired by Federal officers through physical searches may be used. Section 504 of the Patriot Act modified FISA to allow Federal officers who acquire information through electronic surveillance or physical searches to consult with Federal law enforcement officers to coordinate efforts to investigate or protect against potential or actual attacks, sabotage or international terrorism or clandestine intelligence activities by an intelligence service or network of a foreign power.
s (NSLs). It required electronic communication service providers to comply with a request for subscriber information and toll billing records information, or electronic communication transactional records when so asked by the FBI. The disclosure by any recipient of an NSL was prohibited as under § 2709(c) they were not able to tell anyone that the FBI had sought or obtained access to records of the person who was being targeted by the NSL. The Right to Financial Privacy Act of 1978 gives the FBI authority to require financial institutions to provide information about their customer’s or an entity’s financial records. The Fair Credit Reporting Act
requires a consumer reporting agency to provide the FBI the names and addresses of all financial institutions at which a consumer
maintains or has maintained an account
.
Section 505 of the Patriot Act allowed the use of NSLs to be made by a Special Agent in charge of a Bureau field office. Previously only the Director or the Deputy Assistant Director of the FBI were able to certify such requests. The requests for counterintelligence access to telephone toll and transactional records made under FISA can ask for the name, address, length of service, and local and long distance toll billing records of a subscriber, or the name, address, and length of service of an employee of the provider. The Patriot Act modified all the authorities mentioned above to allow for requests for information to be granted only if written certification is provided that the information is "relevant to an authorized investigation to protect against international terrorism or clandestine intelligence activities, provided that such an investigation of a United States person is not conducted solely on the basis of activities protected by the first amendment to the Constitution of the United States".
In 2004, the American Civil Liberties Union
(ACLU) filed a lawsuit
on behalf of an unknown Internet Service Provider
against the U.S. government (American Civil Liberties Union v. Ashcroft (2004)
), contending that the NSLs used under violated the First
and Fourth Amendment
s of the US Constitution. The ACLU's reasoning was that:
The court granted the plaintiff
's motion, agreeing that the NSLs violated the Fourth Amendment because their use "effectively bars or substantially deters any judicial challenge to the propriety of an NSL request". The court also found that the prohibitions of disclosure in , which it described as being "unable to sever from the remainder of the statute", was an "unconstitutional prior restraint on speech in violation of the First Amendment".
s. This includes unauthorized access via a computer to:
It also includes knowingly committing fraudulent acts
using a computer under a number of circumstances.
Section 506 of the Patriot Act gave the U.S. Secret Service jurisdiction
to investigate offenses, though the FBI is given primary authority to investigate offenses relating to the unauthorized access to restricted data relating to atomic energy unless it affects the U.S. President, Vice President, President-elect, Vice President-elect, or their families or other related people. The Secret Service was also regiven authority to arrest those who commit bank fraud
.
order to collect reports, records, and information from the National Center for Education Statistics
(NCES) relating to investigations and prosecutions of a Federal crime of terrorism or an act of domestic or international terrorism. However, the National Education Statistics Act of 1994 was repealed by H.R.3801 (Pub. L. 103–382), otherwise known as an Act "[t]o provide for improvement of Federal education research, statistics, evaluation, information, and dissemination, and for other purposes".
USA PATRIOT Act
The USA PATRIOT Act is an Act of the U.S. Congress that was signed into law by President George W. Bush on October 26, 2001...
, an anti-terrorism bill passed in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
after the September 11, 2001 attacks. It contains 8 sections regarding the capture and prosecution of terrorists.
Payment of rewards
Section 501 of the Patriot Act allows the U.S. Attorney General to pay rewards pursuant of advertisements for assistance to the Department of Justice to combat terrorism and prevent terrorist acts. Rewards over $250,000 may not be made or offered without the personal approval of the Attorney General or President, and once the award is approved the Attorney General must give written notice to the Chairman and ranking minority members of the Committee on Appropriations and the Judiciary of the Senate and of the House of Representatives. These funds can be provided by any U.S. Executive agency, the U.S. Army, U.S. Navy or the U.S. Air Force.Section 502 amended the State Department Basic Authorities Act of 1956 to allow the Department of State to offer rewards, in consultation with the Attorney General, for the full or significant dismantling of any terrorist organiZation and to identify any key leaders of terrorist organizations. It also amended the Act to give the Secretary of State authority to pay greater than $5 million if the Secretary determines it would prevent terrorist actions against the United States.
DNA identification
The DNA Analysis Backlog Elimination Act of 2000DNA Analysis Backlog Elimination Act of 2000
The DNA Analysis Backlog Elimination Act of 2000 is a United States Act of Congress that primarily allows U.S. States to carry out DNA analyses for use in the FBI's Combined DNA Index System and to collect and analyse DNA samples.Under the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 , 42...
primarily allows U.S. States carry out DNA
DNA
Deoxyribonucleic acid is a nucleic acid that contains the genetic instructions used in the development and functioning of all known living organisms . The DNA segments that carry this genetic information are called genes, but other DNA sequences have structural purposes, or are involved in...
analyses for use in the FBI's Combined DNA Index System
Combined DNA Index System
The Combined DNA Index System is a DNA database funded by the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation . It is a computer system that stores DNA profiles created by federal, state, and local crime laboratories in the United States, with the ability to search the database to assist in the...
and to collect and analyse DNA samples of violent and sexual offenders. Section 3 of the Act mandates the collection of DNA samples of Federal prisoners who were convicted of murder
Murder
Murder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...
, sexual abuse
Sexual abuse
Sexual abuse, also referred to as molestation, is the forcing of undesired sexual behavior by one person upon another. When that force is immediate, of short duration, or infrequent, it is called sexual assault. The offender is referred to as a sexual abuser or molester...
, child sexual abuse
Child sexual abuse
Child sexual abuse is a form of child abuse in which an adult or older adolescent uses a child for sexual stimulation. Forms of child sexual abuse include asking or pressuring a child to engage in sexual activities , indecent exposure with intent to gratify their own sexual desires or to...
, involvement in sex trafficking, peonage and slavery
Slavery
Slavery is a system under which people are treated as property to be bought and sold, and are forced to work. Slaves can be held against their will from the time of their capture, purchase or birth, and deprived of the right to leave, to refuse to work, or to demand compensation...
, kidnapping
Kidnapping
In criminal law, kidnapping is the taking away or transportation of a person against that person's will, usually to hold the person in false imprisonment, a confinement without legal authority...
, robbery
Robbery
Robbery is the crime of taking or attempting to take something of value by force or threat of force or by putting the victim in fear. At common law, robbery is defined as taking the property of another, with the intent to permanently deprive the person of that property, by means of force or fear....
or burglary
Burglary
Burglary is a crime, the essence of which is illicit entry into a building for the purposes of committing an offense. Usually that offense will be theft, but most jurisdictions specify others which fall within the ambit of burglary...
; or for any military offense against the Uniform Code of Military Justice
Uniform Code of Military Justice
The Uniform Code of Military Justice , is the foundation of military law in the United States. It is was established by the United States Congress in accordance with the authority given by the United States Constitution in Article I, Section 8, which provides that "The Congress shall have Power . ....
for which a sentence of confinement for more than one year may be imposed. Section 503 of the Patriot Act amended the DNA Analysis Backlog Elimination Act to include terrorism or crimes of violence in the list of qualifying Federal offenses.
Coordination with law enforcement
Section 106 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978
America's Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 is an Act of Congress, , which prescribes procedures for the physical and electronic surveillance and collection of "foreign intelligence information" between "foreign powers" and "agents of foreign powers" America's Foreign Intelligence...
(FISA) specifies how foreign intelligence information acquired by Federal officers using electronic surveillance may be used. Section 305 of FISA specifies how foreign intelligence information acquired by Federal officers through physical searches may be used. Section 504 of the Patriot Act modified FISA to allow Federal officers who acquire information through electronic surveillance or physical searches to consult with Federal law enforcement officers to coordinate efforts to investigate or protect against potential or actual attacks, sabotage or international terrorism or clandestine intelligence activities by an intelligence service or network of a foreign power.
National security authorities
Three national security authorities were modified under title V of the Patriot Act. FISA granted counterintelligence access to telephone toll and transactional records through the use of National Security LetterNational Security Letter
A National Security Letter is a form of administrative subpoena used by the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation and reportedly by other U.S. Government Agencies including the Central Intelligence Agency and the Department of Defense. They require no probable cause or judicial oversight...
s (NSLs). It required electronic communication service providers to comply with a request for subscriber information and toll billing records information, or electronic communication transactional records when so asked by the FBI. The disclosure by any recipient of an NSL was prohibited as under § 2709(c) they were not able to tell anyone that the FBI had sought or obtained access to records of the person who was being targeted by the NSL. The Right to Financial Privacy Act of 1978 gives the FBI authority to require financial institutions to provide information about their customer’s or an entity’s financial records. The Fair Credit Reporting Act
Fair Credit Reporting Act
The Fair Credit Reporting Act is a United States federal law that regulates the collection, dissemination, and use of consumer information, including consumer credit information. Along with the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act , it forms the base of consumer credit rights in the United States...
requires a consumer reporting agency to provide the FBI the names and addresses of all financial institutions at which a consumer
Consumer
Consumer is a broad label for any individuals or households that use goods generated within the economy. The concept of a consumer occurs in different contexts, so that the usage and significance of the term may vary.-Economics and marketing:...
maintains or has maintained an account
Deposit account
A deposit account is a current account, savings account, or other type of bank account, at a banking institution that allows money to be deposited and withdrawn by the account holder. These transactions are recorded on the bank's books, and the resulting balance is recorded as a liability for the...
.
Section 505 of the Patriot Act allowed the use of NSLs to be made by a Special Agent in charge of a Bureau field office. Previously only the Director or the Deputy Assistant Director of the FBI were able to certify such requests. The requests for counterintelligence access to telephone toll and transactional records made under FISA can ask for the name, address, length of service, and local and long distance toll billing records of a subscriber, or the name, address, and length of service of an employee of the provider. The Patriot Act modified all the authorities mentioned above to allow for requests for information to be granted only if written certification is provided that the information is "relevant to an authorized investigation to protect against international terrorism or clandestine intelligence activities, provided that such an investigation of a United States person is not conducted solely on the basis of activities protected by the first amendment to the Constitution of the United States".
In 2004, the American Civil Liberties Union
American Civil Liberties Union
The American Civil Liberties Union is a U.S. non-profit organization whose stated mission is "to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to every person in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States." It works through litigation, legislation, and...
(ACLU) filed a lawsuit
Lawsuit
A lawsuit or "suit in law" is a civil action brought in a court of law in which a plaintiff, a party who claims to have incurred loss as a result of a defendant's actions, demands a legal or equitable remedy. The defendant is required to respond to the plaintiff's complaint...
on behalf of an unknown Internet Service Provider
John Doe
The name "John Doe" is used as a placeholder name in a legal action, case or discussion for a male party, whose true identity is unknown or must be withheld for legal reasons. The name is also used to refer to a male corpse or hospital patient whose identity is unknown...
against the U.S. government (American Civil Liberties Union v. Ashcroft (2004)
American Civil Liberties Union v. Ashcroft (2004)
American Civil Liberties Union v. Ashcroft is a lawsuit filed on behalf of a formerly unknown ISP owner by the American Civil Liberties Union against the U.S. federal government....
), contending that the NSLs used under violated the First
First Amendment to the United States Constitution
The First Amendment to the United States Constitution is part of the Bill of Rights. The amendment prohibits the making of any law respecting an establishment of religion, impeding the free exercise of religion, abridging the freedom of speech, infringing on the freedom of the press, interfering...
and Fourth Amendment
Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution
The Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution is the part of the Bill of Rights which guards against unreasonable searches and seizures, along with requiring any warrant to be judicially sanctioned and supported by probable cause...
s of the US Constitution. The ACLU's reasoning was that:
- Section 2709 failed to spell out any legal process whereby a telephone or Internet company could try to oppose an NSL subpoena in court, and
- Section 2709 prohibited the recipient of an NSL from disclosing that he had received such a request from the FBI, and outweighs the FBI's need for secrecy in counter-terrorism investigations.
The court granted the plaintiff
Plaintiff
A plaintiff , also known as a claimant or complainant, is the term used in some jurisdictions for the party who initiates a lawsuit before a court...
's motion, agreeing that the NSLs violated the Fourth Amendment because their use "effectively bars or substantially deters any judicial challenge to the propriety of an NSL request". The court also found that the prohibitions of disclosure in , which it described as being "unable to sever from the remainder of the statute", was an "unconstitutional prior restraint on speech in violation of the First Amendment".
Extension of Secret Service jurisdiction
Section 1030 of Title 18 of the U.S. Code specifies punishments for various computer crimeComputer crime
Computer crime, or cybercrime, refers to any crime that involves a computer and a network. The computer may have been used in the commission of a crime, or it may be the target. Netcrime refers to criminal exploitation of the Internet. Such crimes may threaten a nation’s security and financial health...
s. This includes unauthorized access via a computer to:
- restricted data relating to the design, manufacture, or utilization of atomic weapons; the production of special nuclear materialNuclear materialNuclear material refers to the metals uranium, plutonium, and thorium, in any form, according to the IAEA. This is differentiated further into "source material", consisting of natural and depleted uranium, and "special fissionable material", consisting of enriched uranium , uranium-233, and...
; or the use of special nuclear material in the production of energyAtomic energyAtomic energy is energy produced by atoms.*Nuclear energy, the energy resulting from potential differences in the nuclear force*Nuclear reaction, a process in which nuclei or nuclear particles interact, resulting in products different from the initial ones; see also nuclear fission and nuclear... - information contained in a financial record of a financial institution, department or agency of the United States or information from any protected computerProtected ComputerProtected computers is a term used in Title 18, Section 1030 of the United States Code, which prohibits a number of different kinds of conduct, generally involving unauthorized access to, or damage to the data stored on, "protected computers"...
- any nonpublic computer of a U.S. department or agency.
It also includes knowingly committing fraudulent acts
Fraud
In criminal law, a fraud is an intentional deception made for personal gain or to damage another individual; the related adjective is fraudulent. The specific legal definition varies by legal jurisdiction. Fraud is a crime, and also a civil law violation...
using a computer under a number of circumstances.
Section 506 of the Patriot Act gave the U.S. Secret Service jurisdiction
Jurisdiction
Jurisdiction is the practical authority granted to a formally constituted legal body or to a political leader to deal with and make pronouncements on legal matters and, by implication, to administer justice within a defined area of responsibility...
to investigate offenses, though the FBI is given primary authority to investigate offenses relating to the unauthorized access to restricted data relating to atomic energy unless it affects the U.S. President, Vice President, President-elect, Vice President-elect, or their families or other related people. The Secret Service was also regiven authority to arrest those who commit bank fraud
Bank fraud
Bank fraud is the use of fraudulent means to obtain money, assets, or other property owned or held by a financial institution, or to obtain money from depositors by fraudulently representing to be a bank or financial institution. In many instances, bank fraud is a criminal offense...
.
Disclosure of educational records
In general, section 444 of the General Education Provisions Act restricts funding for educational institutions who restrict parental access to the educational records of their children, or who release information to members or organisations of the general public about students without the written consent of that student's parents. Section 507 of the Patriot Act added paragraph (j) to the General Education Provisions Act. This paragraph allows the U.S. Attorney General or Assistant Attorney General to collect and retain educational records relevant to an authorized investigation or prosecution of an offense that is defined as a Federal crime of terrorism which are in the possession of an educational agency or institution. The Attorney General or Assistant Attorney General must "certify that there are specific and articulable facts giving reason to believe that the education records are likely to contain information [that a Federal crime of terrorism may be being committed]." An education institution that produces education records in response to such a request is given legal immunity from any liability that rises from such a production of records.Disclosure of information from NCES surveys
The National Education Statistics Act of 1994 was amended to allow the U.S. Attorney General or Assistant Attorney General to submit a written application to a court of competent jurisdiction for an ex parteEx parte
Ex parte is a Latin legal term meaning "from one party" .An ex parte decision is one decided by a judge without requiring all of the parties to the controversy to be present. In Australian, Canadian, U.K., Indian and U.S...
order to collect reports, records, and information from the National Center for Education Statistics
National Center for Education Statistics
The National Center for Education Statistics is the part of the United States Department of Education's Institute of Education Sciences that collects, analyzes, and publishes statistics on education and public school district finance information in the United States...
(NCES) relating to investigations and prosecutions of a Federal crime of terrorism or an act of domestic or international terrorism. However, the National Education Statistics Act of 1994 was repealed by H.R.3801 (Pub. L. 103–382), otherwise known as an Act "[t]o provide for improvement of Federal education research, statistics, evaluation, information, and dissemination, and for other purposes".