The controversial Patriot Act is up for renewal once again, after stalling in the Senate on May 11. With three key provisions set to expire on June 1, including a measure under section 215 that allows intelligence officials to gather and hold private user data for an unspecified amount of time, debates over the effectiveness of the bill have cropped up on both sides of the political aisle. As the Senate gathered in an unusual Sunday session to vote on moving the bill or its amendment extension, the USA Freedom Act, forward, parties have splintered. But if the Patriot Act provisions do expire, as the government has so keenly warned against, is that really such a bad thing?

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Image: Susan Melkisethian/Flickr