The USA Patriot Act expired at midnight after US Senator Rand Paul, drawing on the classified information Snowden leaked in 2013 about NSA surveillance programs, blocked the Senate from voting on an extension.
Ever since Congress passed the controversial law in October 2011, proponents have argued its provisions give law enforcement and government agencies the power they need to keep the United States safe from terrorist attacks like 9/11. Critics have said those powers are far too broad. They've stripped away civil liberties and privacy and made it too easy for the government and law enforcement to spy on US citizens without accountability.
Snowden showed the world just how far those powers had been stretched. For two years, his revelations have shaped public and political debate about surveillance, national security, and privacy. Now the Senate will debate a pared-down bill called the USA Freedom Act, which ends some of the NSA's most controversial programs, including bulk collection of US phone records.
Although it is seen as as betrayal of his own country, the question remains, "was he warning the American people that their rights were being infringed upon?" I can see both perspectives and understand why both sides have the views they do.
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