Eroding Privacy Rights Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Eroding Privacy Rights - Essay Example   A watershed moment in world history, the morning of September 11th, 2001 will forever be ingrained in the American national psyche. From a political, social and economic perspective, the hijackings of 9/11 were unparalleled in scope and sheer devastation. In a fascinating article entitled "Measuring the Effects of the September 11 Attack on New York City†, it was estimated that the direct cost of the attack stood at between $33 billion and $36 billion to the city of New York (Bram, Orr & Rappaport 55). In addition to the direct economic costs associated with terrorism and the threat of further terrorism, 9/11 also had important political ramifications.   The USA Patriot Act of 2001 (a contrived acronym meaning Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism) was established in the aftermath of September 11th to protect Americans from the threat of future terror on American soil.   Controversial from the outse t, the Patriot Act represented a serious departure from established legal norms and prior American jurisprudence with respect to privacy legislation (ACLU 2008).   Created under the pretense of securing the United States against the threat of terror in the wake of 9/11, the Patriot Act of 2001 significantly strengthened the scope of powers afforded to law enforcement agencies while redefining the term terrorism to include domestic terror, i.e. homegrown terror perpetrated by American citizens.