Does the Patriot Act allow government to read our IM conversations??

Answer 1

I'm sure it does. Just as Echelon under Clinton allowed the government warrant-less reading of all Internet E-Mail.

Answer 2

Yes -- all internet communications (e-mail, chats, IM, etc.) can be monitored. The sad thing is, the Patriot Act allows *secret* warrants to be obtained to do this (it's considered wiretapping), so the user never even knows he's being monitored...but the W white house does it even without bothering to get a secret warrant -- give the guy an inch and he takes a mile.

Answer 3

Yes. It does many things to monitor you and all of us. Hear is some history on the ACT. The more you look into the scarier it becomes.

One of the most striking features of the USA PATRIOT Act is the lack of debate surrounding its introduction. Many of the provisions of the Act relating to electronic surveillance were proposed before September 11th, and were subject to much criticism and debate. John Podesta, White House Chief of Staff from 1998 - 2001, has questioned what has changed since then.

The events of September 11 convinced ... overwhelming majorities in Congress that law enforcement and national security officials need new legal tools to fight terrorism. But we should not forget what gave rise to the original opposition - many aspects of the bill increase the opportunity for law enforcement and the intelligence community to return to an era where they monitored and sometimes harassed individuals who were merely exercising their First Amendment rights. Nothing that occurred on September 11 mandates that we return to such an era.
- John Podesta, USA Patriot Act - The Good, the Bad, and the Sunset (Winter, 2002)
When the legislative proposals were introduced by the Bush administration in the aftermath of September 11th, Attorney General John Ashcroft gave Congress one week in which to pass the bill -- without changes. Vermont Democrat Patrick Leahy, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, managed to convince the Justice Department to agree to some changes, and members of the House began to make significant improvements. However, the Attorney General warned that further terrorist acts were imminent, and that Congress could be to blame for such attacks if it failed to pass the bill immediately.

Extensive and hurried negotiation in the Senate resulted in a bipartisan bill, stripped of many of the concessions won by Sen. Leahy. Senator Thomas Daschle, the majority leader, sought unanimous consent to pass the proposal without debate or amendment; Senator Russ Feingold was the only member to object.

Minor changes were made in the House, which passed the bill 357 to 66. The Senate and House versions were quickly reconciled, and the Act was signed into law on October 26, 2001.

Overview
The USA PATRIOT Act introduced sweeping changes to U.S. law, including amendments to:

Wiretap Statute (Title III):
Electronic Communications Privacy Act
Computer Fraud and Abuse Act
Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act
Family Education Rights and Privacy Act
Pen Register and Trap and Trace Statute
Money Laundering Act
Immigration and Nationality Act
Money Laundering Control Act
Bank Secrecy Act
Right to Financial Privacy Act
Fair Credit Reporting Act

Answer 4

I just reported you to the Feds, you sound like a troublemaker, you!
Just kidding. I don't know, but unless your name is Ahmad and you are communicating with someone from Syria, Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, etc. I am sure the Gvt gives two sheets about you and me.
I understand people concerns here, but we are at a time of war. What Roosevelt did in ww2 makes Bush look like a sissy school girl.

Answer 5

along with any of your financial data, medical history or just about anything else they deem necessary. Now that they have removed Habeas Corpus, they can pick you or anyone up ant any time without a warrant, lock you up and throw away the key simply on the word of any person who claims your involved with terrorist activity. Say the UPS guy becomes suspicious of something he saw in your yard, game over for you.

Answer 6

What if it does? What are you saying on IM that could link you to terrorists? Are you plotting to overthrow the government? That would be the only reason for reading your IM. They don't care if you are having cybersex viewing porno sites or anything that mundane.

Answer 7

no it does not, the Patriot Act really violate any privacy rights or any of that, as people clam.

Answer 8

if your are not doing any think to hurt the country y do you care

Answer 9

You bet. Even if it didn't they would still do it, anyways. This is what the Bush administration does...

Answer 10

well, only if you are chatting with a terrorist.
advice to you. dont chat with terrorists.