usa patriot act
USA Patriot Act. A statute enacted in response to the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, giving law-enforcement agencies broader authority to collect information on suspected terrorists, to share that information among domestic and foreign intelligence agencies, to make the country’s borders more secure, to detain suspects on new types of criminal charges using new criminal procedures, and to give the Treasury Department more authority to investigate and regulate financial institutions that participate in foreign money-laundering. • The title is an acronym of Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism. — Often shortened to Patriot Act.
