Title: What is the USA FREEDOM Act? What's So Free About It?
Headings: What is the USA FREEDOM Act? What’s So Free About It?
What is the USA FREEDOM Act? What’s So Free About It?
Congressional Support for the Freedom Act
What Does the Freedom Act Do?
Final Thoughts

Content: Until whistleblower Edward Snowden revealed in 2013 that the government was abusing the law, the public was largely unaware that the government had taken such an interest in their private data. The Patriot Act authorized programs such as PRISM, Tempora and Dishfire, which collected information about phone calls, text messages and online activities like they were shopping at Costco. They collected data in bulk and typically without proof that the people involved were doing anything illegal. While America’s programs didn’t amount to outright censorship, as in China, they did present substantial concerns about individual freedoms and security. While President Barack Obama took the stance that Americans were better off not knowing that the government was spying on them, the public outcry stemming from Snowden’s revelations forced him to act. Congressional Support for the Freedom Act
Obama pushed the Freedom Act as an improvement to the Patriot Act and as a way to reassure the public that the government wasn’t after their data, even if the latter claim wasn’t true. The act had broad bipartisan support in the Senate: 23 Republicans, 43 Democrats and one independent voted for it. Only one Democrat, Senator Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin opposed it. Thirty Republicans opposed it, including Orrin Hatch of Utah, John McCain of Arizona and Mitch McConnell of Kentucky.