Patriot Act

United States federal legislation that was enacted following the terror attacks on September 11, 2001. Under this act, the government and its contracted officials are allowed to track and monitor communication between individuals in an effort to prevent crimes and other acts of terror. Phone conversations, emails, text messages and other forms of communication may be monitored on a consistent basis if a potential threat has been identified. The act received a lot of backlash from citizens who felt like their right to privacy was being taken away.