Robert Gellman <br/><br/>
Government Information Quarterly  

 - New York :  PERGAMON,  2002 
<br/><br/> Antiterrorism legislation passed at the end of 2001—the U.S.A. Patriot Act—has serious implications for privacy. Many of the law’s provisions expand the government’s existing ability to intercept wire, oral, and electronic communications relating to terrorism and other crimes, to share criminal investigative information, and to conduct electronic surveillance. While the changes are controversial, and some are of questionable constitutionality, the surveillance provisions of the new law mostly make changes in degree and not kind. Other aspects of privacy and privacy law remained unchanged. Laws affecting how the private sector gathers, stores, and uses personal information for private purposes were not modified. After passage of the antiterrorism law, other legislation expanded privacy protections in other areas. Further events and legislation will affect privacy rights and interests, and some protections may be eroded while others are improved