COPYCENSE

“A fraction–a mere 16 sections–of the Patriot Act’s awesome surveillance powers expire Dec. 31. They expanded secret methods the FBI can use to obtain business records; authorized more information sharing between Internet providers and police; and listed computer hacking as an offense permitting increased eavesdropping.

“The Bush administration and congressional Republicans spent last week arguing that speedy approval of the larded-up conference report was necessary to keep America safe. But what Gonzales didn’t say was that the conference report has become a political version of a Christmas tree: It’s ornamented with dozens of senators’ pet projects. The result is a structure so weighty with irrelevant amendments it’s nearly twice the size of the original Patriot Act.”

Declan McCullagh. Must We Renew the Patriot Act? News.com. Dec. 12, 2005.

CopyCense™: K. Matthew Dames on the intersection of business, law and technology. A business venture of Seso Digital LLC.