Originally published January 19 2005
Bush's second term brings concerns from privacy activists
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
Privacy advocates are gearing up for several months of political fighting, as the early days President Bush's second term gets underway. The activists say they are concerned, not only about proposed enhancements to the Patriot Act, but also with changes that allow the private sector to share its consumer data more freely with government agencies.
As the nation prepares for President Bush's inauguration next week, privacy activists on both sides of the political spectrum are bracing for a White House push to augment controversial domestic surveillance powers gained under the Patriot Act and other legislation passed since 9/11.
"The administration has made it clear that they do intend to continue their move to dramatically reduce privacy and constitutional protection for our citizens," said former Republican congressman Bob Barr, who now works as a speaker and consultant to organizations like the American Civil Liberties Union.
But surveillance legislation isn't the only concern on the minds of privacy advocates.
In his state-of-the-union speech last year, Bush urged Congress to renew certain provisions of the Patriot Act that are set to expire at the end of this year.
One possible reason for optimism could be the SAFE Act, introduced in 2003, which Barr sees as a sign that some members of Congress regretted passing the Patriot Act with insufficient checks and balances.
The Security and Freedom Ensured Act of 2003, or SB1709, is a bipartisan bill that refines some of the more invasive provisions of the Patriot Act regarding wiretaps, library records and other types of surveillance.
Privacy advocates say this will be the most important issue to watch this year.
Although laws prohibit the government from building dossiers on individuals, they don't prohibit the government from buying information from commercial data aggregators like Acxiom, ChoicePoint and LexisNexis, which collect information about citizens' web surfing, bank transactions, doctor visits and travel itineraries.
For example, the Fleet Bank in Boston closed the financial accounts of several customers after law enforcement made inquiries about the customers' transactions in the course of a terrorist investigation.
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