Patriot Act -
Many people are wondering how this act affects the individual computer user at their own home. The government is given much more access to the things viewed on each person’s individual internet accounts in their homes. Agencies have been given the power to use pen-register authority on home computers through someone’s Internet Service Provider. Pen-register authority has been primarily used on telephone conversations. The actual content of the conversation is not viewed, but simply the times of numbers dialed and received on a certain phone account. When this is applied to the internet, the government views the times of e-mails received and sent. It also traces who the come from or go out to. The act also allowed the government to view more in-depth information about a person’s e-mail account through their ISPs. Some of this information included such vital information as credit-card numbers. All of this information is obtained without a court order.
The government can record who you email and who emails you.
They couldn't do this before the patriot Act. Now I know, no one has anything to hide. But should anyone decide to use this information in a nefarious purpose, guess what - there will be no record of who tapped you, for what reason, etc.