Bernie Sanders rails against the Patriot Act's 'Orwellian surveillance'


A free daily digest of the biggest news stories of the day - and the best features from our website
Thank you for signing up to TheWeek. You will receive a verification email shortly.
There was a problem. Please refresh the page and try again.
In a Time op-ed, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) writes that he "voted against the Patriot Act every time" — and it still needs an overhaul.
Sanders' op-ed comes as a federal appeals court ruled Thursday that the NSA's phone surveillance program is illegal, a decision Sanders praises. He explains that while the U.S. must "do everything we can" to prevent terrorist attacks, the country should do so "in a way that also protects the constitutional rights of the American people."
Sanders goes on to criticize the "Orwellian surveillance" policies of the much-maligned Patriot Act, which went into effect after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks:
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Do we really want to live in a country where the NSA gathers data on virtually every single phone call in the United States — including as many as five billion cellphone records per day? I don’t. Do we really want our government to collect our emails, see our text messages, know everyone’s internet browsing history, monitor bank and credit card transactions, keep tabs on people’s social networks? I don't.Unfortunately, this sort of Orwellian surveillance, conducted under provisions of the Patriot Act, invades the privacy of millions of law-abiding Americans. [Time]
The Patriot Act expires at the end of the month. Read Sanders' full op-ed over at Time.
Continue reading for free
We hope you're enjoying The Week's refreshingly open-minded journalism.
Subscribed to The Week? Register your account with the same email as your subscription.
Sign up to our 10 Things You Need to Know Today newsletter
A free daily digest of the biggest news stories of the day - and the best features from our website
Meghan DeMaria is a staff writer at TheWeek.com. She has previously worked for USA Today and Marie Claire.
-
Biden's first rodeo
cartoons
By The Week Staff Published
-
Biden's stumble
Cartoons
By The Week Staff Published
-
The daily gossip: Travis Kelce chats about Taylor Swift's Chiefs game visit, Hollywood writers thrilled with details of new contract as strike ends, and more
The daily gossip: September 27, 2023
By Brendan Morrow Published
-
Biden creates White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention
Speed Read The office will be led by Vice President Kamala Harris
By Justin Klawans Published
-
Rishi Sunak lambasts China after allegations of spy in UK Parliament
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
Judge denies Mark Meadows' request to move Georgia case to federal court
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
Former New Mexico governor Bill Richardson dies at 75
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
Clarence Thomas officially discloses trips from billionaire GOP donor
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
Judge schedules Trump federal election plot trial for crowded March 2024
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
Trump surrenders in Georgia election subversion case
Speed Read
By Catherine Garcia Published
-
Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin, Putin ally-turned-rival, presumed dead in plane crash
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published