Florida GOP Congresswoman Anna Paulina Luna on Wednesday introduced legislation to fully repeal the Patriot Act.
“Today, I introduced the “American Privacy Restoration Act” to FULLY REPEAL the Patriot Act and strip rogue intelligence officers of their extraordinary mass surveillance powers,” Luna wrote on the social media platform X.
The Patriot Act was passed in 2001, shortly after the 9/11 attacks, and signed into law by then-President George W. Bush.
The bill was passed in order to prevent terrorism at home, in part by giving the federal government enhanced surveillance authority, including to monitor electronic communications both at home and abroad.
Critics have argued that it has been used to conduct spying campaigns on everyday Americans.
“Since the passage of the USA Patriot Act in the aftermath of 9/11, intelligence agency officials have used their mass surveillance tools to settle personal scores, interfere in elections, and spy on untold numbers of innocent Americans,” Luna’s post continued. “This abuse must come to an end!”
