EFF applauds the introduction last week of legislation that would repeal USA PATRIOT Act provisions that threaten citizens' privacy rights. The Benjamin Franklin True Patriot Act (HR 3171), introduced by Congressman Dennis Kucinich along with 20 Congressional cosponsors, would repeal more than ten sections of USA PATRIOT, including those authorizing "sneak & peek" searches, surveillance of Internet activites without probable cause, and warrantless searches of library, medical and financial records.
"The USA PATRIOT Act, passed immediately after the September 11th attacks with practically no debate, represented a severe blow to our civil liberties," said EFF Attorney and Equal Justice Works Fellow Kevin Bankston. "The Benjamin Franklin True Patriot Act offers Congress the opportunity to undo the damage that was done then, and take back the broad surveillance powers it so hastily granted to the Justice Department in 2001."
