Since the September 11 attacks, the terrorist threat has still not diminished. Threats come and go and many people are on alert, either to judge their race, their activities, or to protect themselves. The September 11 attacks caused national panic over terrorist threats. Many obstacles have been overcome such as the death of Osama bin Laden and the capture of many potential terrorists. Due to the many forms of terrorism, the plethora of new technologies, and the increase in network infrastructure, some control has been placed on the Internet and many people's phones, wiretapping by the United States has sparked much criticism of the nation. Wiretapping, filtering and internet monitoring help the FBI and government control suspects without their knowledge. The question arises: do wiretapping constitute a form of violation of civil liberties? The Patriot Act was put into effect after the September 11 attacks, allowing the government to use numerous means to detect terrorist threats or possible threats to the nation. The questions come from the heart of civil liberty: what freedoms are granted to us? “Civil liberties are the personal freedoms of individuals that are protected against government intrusion” (Losco and Baker, p. 65). This definition is consistent with other definitions of what civil liberties are and what is promised to the people. The definition explains that civil liberties are afforded to us and should not be violated. The government, by using various methods to invade privacy and by making new laws, ensures that the freedoms granted are violated, such as freedom of speech, freedom of religion, due process of law and many more. This shift in the need for security causes a feeling of suffocation due to the limited freedoms that...... middle of paper ...... TRAINING AWARENESS UPDATE (TIA). (February 7, 2003). US Department of Defense. Retrieved April 17, 2014 from http://www.defense.gov/releases/release.aspx?releaseid=3625FOIA. (nd). Recovered. FCC. April 17, 2014, at http://www.fcc.gov/foia “Islam is peace,” says president. (2001, September 17). The White House. Accessed April 18, 2014, from http://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2001/09/20010917-11.htmlPrivacy in the fight against terrorism. (2004, March). TAPAC. Retrieved April 19, 2014 from http://www.sainc.com/tapac/TAPAC_Executive_Final_5-10-04.pdf Evans, D, N., Maragh, C. and Porter. JR (2014). What do we know about New York's Stop and Frisk program? A spatial and statistical analysis. Society for Science and Education, 1(2), 129-144. Retrieved April 18, 2014 from http://scholarpublishing.org/index.php/ASSRJ/article/view/66