Legal Question in Constitutional Law in California

The Details of the Patriot Act

Hi, i am preparing a speech for my communications class and i was hoping to talk about the patriot act, however i am unsure about one thing. How is it that the governemnt knows whos emails or AIM conversations to read or phone lines to tap. Is the only way of knowing who to perform these wire tapping and online messaging readings to by word of mouth? Is there a way of knowing who to investigate without somebody actually informming officials of a possible wrong doer?


Asked on 2/21/06, 2:46 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Michael Stone Law Offices of Michael B. Stone Toll Free 1-855-USE-MIKE

Re: The Details of the Patriot Act

Law enforcement and intelligence officers who conduct officially authorized wiretaps don't discuss their sources and methods. Some websites claim that there exist very massive computers that can simultaneouly scan many thousands of phone conversations looking for specific words of interest; intercepting and listening to phone calls for intelligence purposes is legal if the phone calls cross international borders. However, there is no way to confirm information presented on these types of websites. For general information on the USA Patriot Act and related subjects, you might try one of the following web sites:

www.usdoj.gov

www.fas.org

www.aclu.org

www.eff.org

You might also try a Google or Wikipedia search on:

"USA Patriot Act"

CALEA

Echelon

"Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act"

"National Security Agency"

Read more
Answered on 2/21/06, 3:32 am


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