Kevin Bankston at the EFF blogs,
Yesterday evening, the U.S. House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly to renew three expiring provisions of the USA PATRIOT Act, after the Senate abandoned the PATRIOT reform effort and approved the extension by a voice vote on Wednesday night.
Disappointingly, the government’s dangerously broad authority to conduct roving wiretaps of unspecified or “John Doe” targets, to secretly wiretap of persons without any connection to terrorists or spies under the so-called “lone wolf” provision, and to secretly access a wide range of private business records without warrants under PATRIOT Section 215 were all renewed without any new checks and balances to prevent abuse.
EFF: Epic Fail in Congress: USA PATRIOT Act Renewed Without Any New Civil Liberties Protections
[Image: Patriot Act, a Creative Commons-licensed illustration by Wiretap Studios, large version here.]