Patriot Act Introduced in the House of Representatives as H.R. 3162
Patriot Act Introduced in the House of Representatives as H.R. 3162 by Frank J. Sensenbrenner, Jr. (R–WI) on October 23, 2001.
Signed into law by President George W. Bush on October 26, 2001
The PATRIOT Act[9] has made a number of changes to U.S. law. Key acts changed were the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 (FISA), the Electronic Communications Privacy Act of 1986 (ECPA), the Money Laundering Control Act of 1986 and Bank Secrecy Act (BSA), as well as the Immigration and Nationality Act.
Various provisions allowed for the disclosure of electronic communications to law enforcement agencies. Those who operate or own a "protected computer" can give permission for authorities to intercept communications carried out on the machine, thus bypassing the requirements of the Wiretap statute.
