Key Provisions of the USA Patriot Act

Key Provision of The USA Patriot Act. SECTIONS. Section 201 - Gives federal officials the authority to intercept wire, spoken and electronic communications relating to terrorism. Section 202 - Gives federal officials the authority to ..

The USA PATRIOT Act's impact on newsgathering is still largely theoretical nearly four years after Congress rushed to enact the law. No newsrooms are known to have been searched and apparently no documents have been taken from reporters under the law -- although those subject to such a search and seizure would be prohibited from talking about it.

Nevertheless, journalists should be concerned about certain provisions of the law, which grant broad new powers to government agents to investigate terrorism and make previous statutory protections for newsrooms almost irrelevant when it comes to terrorism investigations.