How, if at all, has the Patriot Act modified the balance between government power and individual privacy?

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

For Tier One surveillance, the Patriot Act adds several terrorist crimes to the list of
serious crimes excepted from the general ban on electronic surveillance.
For Tier Two, the Patriot Act allows the government to access stored "wire and
electronic communications" by voice mail and e­mail. The Act also expands the
power to conduct such investigations to "any criminal investigation", not just serious
crimes.
With respect to Tier Three, the Patriot Act expands pen register and trap and trace
in two ways. First, it allows the use of pen registers and trap and trace devices to
capture e-mail headers (not messages). Before the Patriot Act, pen registers and trap
and trace devices were authorized only to capture telephone numbers. Secondly, the
Act expands the geographical area the pen register and trap and trace order covers.
Before the Act, the court's power was limited to issuing orders only within its district?
the Patriot Act empowers the court to issue orders to "anywhere in the United
States.".