Michael Chertoff , co-author of the Patriot Act, a set of laws that provided the US government with broad surveillance powers in the wake of 9/11, is unashamedly proud of what he built.
Speaking to FORBES ahead of the 1 June expiration of three sections of the Act, including Section 215 that’s currently the focus of much scrutiny and the subject of much opposition from human rights activists, Chertoff claims the Act’s provisions for the collection of communications data have helped protect Americans from the manifold threats to national security. He cites the successful shutdown of an August 2006 plot to blow up planes travelling from the UK to the US .
He believes Section 215, which grants agencies the power to gather all “tangible things” from organisations and individuals as long as they’re deemed necessary for an investigation, will be renewed with just minor alterations when the time comes, and blanket surveillance will be approved yet again, despite everything Edward Snowden revealed to the world . But Chertoff, who now runs a cybersecurity consultancy , doesn’t support everything the surveillance industrial complex demands.