With the national tragedy of September 11, 2001, a deeply shaken America arose, shocked by the scale of the cruelty. An act of terrorism of this magnitude has never been seen before in our country. Patriots quickly rallied to support the president in passing legislation, known as the USA Patriot Act, to combat internal and external threats to this nation. Debate ensues, focused on what types of surveillance technologies should or should not be allowed to stop terrorists. However, the question remains how these devices will be used and to what extent those who use them will be personally held responsible. The purpose of this article is to confirm that the proposed monitoring and archiving of user information on social networking sites would represent a further erosion of our civil liberties for only minor gain to our national security. The USA Patriot Act or simply the Patriot Act sanctions the use of wiretapping, additional surveillance of technology, such as voicemail and email, trap and trace devices, and records requirements educational and professional. The Justice Department has justified such actions in criminal investigations as having been used for years. However, this action has come under scrutiny from critics such as the ACLU, who argue that the secrecy surrounding the use of such tools as well as the less strict criteria for obtaining the necessary authority for use “represents a broad expansion of power without building necessary confidentiality.” protection” (The USA PATRIOT Act: Myth vs. Reality, nd). The Patriot Act was signed into law on October 26, 2001, 45 days after the September 11 terrorist attacks. The debate over what the Patriot Act actually allows law enforcement...... middle of paper ......omhttp://www.guardian.co.uk/usa/story/0.12271 ,1669540,00 .htmlNational security. (nd). American Civil Liberties Union. Retrieved from http://www.aclu.org/National-Security Presidential Powers, NSA Spying, and the War on Terror: Americans' Attitudes to Recent Events – Overview. (2006). American Civil Liberties Union. Retrieved from http://www.aclu.org/safefree/nsaspying/24262res20060224.htmlThe New York Times (December 12, 2009). Listen on Twitter. [Editorial]. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/13/opinion/13sun2.htmlThe USA Patriot Act. (2005). Retrieved from http://www.epic.org/privacy/terrorism/usapatriotThe USA Patriot Act: Myth versus reality. (nd). Retrieved from http://www.justice.gov/archive/ll/subs/add_myths.htm