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:
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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.
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