Controversial PatriotApp lets citizens alert feds
A safe and secure society is at the heart of the new PatriotApp for iPhones, and while it's quickly gaining popularity, it's also attracting scorn from people who disagree with the controversial law on which it is based.
Launched in September, the PatriotApp allows people to report criminal or suspicious activity to several federal agencies, including the FBI, EPA, CDC and GAO (Government Accountability Office), the office responsible for investigating public funds. It also includes RSS feeds for the FBI's Most Wanted list and the Department of Homeland Security's threat level, and allows people to report workplace harassment and discrimination.
The app doesn't grant a user privileged access to these agencies; rather, it bundles each group's Internet tip line (ITL) — the website feature used to report incidents — and makes them mobile-phone friendly, and even enables users to send pictures. While it offers users a direct portal to each site's ITL, the user must still go through the same process — and obey the same policies and warnings — as they would if accessing the site on a computer.
