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chenanceouNot that Big Brother was ever really gone, but it made for a cute title and I've been trying to get better at those.
Anyway...
F.B.I., Using Patriot Act, Demands Library's Records [NY Times Link]
WASHINGTON, Aug. 25 - Using its expanded power under the antiterrorism law known as the USA Patriot Act, the F.B.I. is demanding library records from a Connecticut institution as part of an intelligence investigation, the American Civil Liberties Union said Thursday.
The demand is the first confirmed instance in which the Federal Bureau of Investigation has used the law in this way, federal officials and the A.C.L.U. said. The government's power to demand access to library borrowing records and other material showing reading habits has been the single most divisive issue in the debate over whether Congress should extend key elements of the act after this year.
Because of federal secrecy requirements, the A.C.L.U. said it was barred from disclosing the identity of the institution or other main details of the bureau's demand, but court papers indicate that the target is a library in the Bridgeport area.
The A.C.L.U., a leading critic of the Bush administration over the Patriot Act and its antiterrorism policies, brought a lawsuit on Aug. 9 in Federal District Court in Bridgeport on behalf of the Connecticut institution. The suit was filed under seal, and names and other information were redacted in a public version it released Thursday.
The A.C.L.U. said it would seek an emergency order allowing it to discuss details of the case publicly. A hearing has been set for Wednesday in federal court in Bridgeport.
In the debate over the future of the antiterrorism law, the administration has said that it has never used the so-called library provision in the law, which falls under Section 215, to demand records from libraries or booksellers.
The A.C.L.U. said that in the Connecticut case, the bureau was using a separate investigative tool, a type of administrative subpoena known as a national security letter, to get records related to library patrons, reading materials and patrons' use of the Internet.
[it goes on]
It's sort of creepy. And before people start, yes, I do understand there's the whole terrorist threat in that corner of the world issue that should go on the scale. Still, it's sad to see that the country that inspired so many of those who grew up under dictatorships and without civil liberties is now... Oh, well. I should just drive by, like some people like to remind me: Not my country really (I have to put up with a lengthy and dull process to get a visa) and I basically go there to go to the Met, shop, see friends and take in the sights.
It's just, well, sad.
This (they have a few along the same lines) comes from the Librarian.net.
Anyway...
F.B.I., Using Patriot Act, Demands Library's Records [NY Times Link]
WASHINGTON, Aug. 25 - Using its expanded power under the antiterrorism law known as the USA Patriot Act, the F.B.I. is demanding library records from a Connecticut institution as part of an intelligence investigation, the American Civil Liberties Union said Thursday.
The demand is the first confirmed instance in which the Federal Bureau of Investigation has used the law in this way, federal officials and the A.C.L.U. said. The government's power to demand access to library borrowing records and other material showing reading habits has been the single most divisive issue in the debate over whether Congress should extend key elements of the act after this year.
Because of federal secrecy requirements, the A.C.L.U. said it was barred from disclosing the identity of the institution or other main details of the bureau's demand, but court papers indicate that the target is a library in the Bridgeport area.
The A.C.L.U., a leading critic of the Bush administration over the Patriot Act and its antiterrorism policies, brought a lawsuit on Aug. 9 in Federal District Court in Bridgeport on behalf of the Connecticut institution. The suit was filed under seal, and names and other information were redacted in a public version it released Thursday.
The A.C.L.U. said it would seek an emergency order allowing it to discuss details of the case publicly. A hearing has been set for Wednesday in federal court in Bridgeport.
In the debate over the future of the antiterrorism law, the administration has said that it has never used the so-called library provision in the law, which falls under Section 215, to demand records from libraries or booksellers.
The A.C.L.U. said that in the Connecticut case, the bureau was using a separate investigative tool, a type of administrative subpoena known as a national security letter, to get records related to library patrons, reading materials and patrons' use of the Internet.
[it goes on]
It's sort of creepy. And before people start, yes, I do understand there's the whole terrorist threat in that corner of the world issue that should go on the scale. Still, it's sad to see that the country that inspired so many of those who grew up under dictatorships and without civil liberties is now... Oh, well. I should just drive by, like some people like to remind me: Not my country really (I have to put up with a lengthy and dull process to get a visa) and I basically go there to go to the Met, shop, see friends and take in the sights.
It's just, well, sad.
This (they have a few along the same lines) comes from the Librarian.net.
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Date: 2005-08-27 01:47 am (UTC)