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Connecticut Library Takes on Patriot ActA Connecticut library is suing the Justice Department to challenge an FBI demand for its user records, billing information, and internet logs under authorization of Section 505 of the USA Patriot Act, the New York Times reported August 26. The American Civil Liberties Union, which has joined the unnamed library in the lawsuit, announced that it was filed under seal August 9 with the U.S. District Court in Bridgeport. The complaint focuses on the FBI’s use of an administrative subpoena called a national security letter to obtain library records without approval of a judge in an “investigation to protect against international terrorism or clandestine intelligence activities,” as the FBI letter—released by the ACLU with a redacted public version of the complaint—reads.Because of a gag order imposed by the Patriot Act, the identity of the institution, the specific records being sought, the date of the request, and other details of the incident cannot be disclosed. The lawsuit asserts that Section 505 of the act violates the First, Fourth, and Fifth Amendments to the Constitution and seeks relief from complying with the FBI demand, a permanent ban on the FBI’s use of Section 505 subpoenas, immunity from Patriot Act–related penalties, and an emergency court order to lift the gag provision so that the library can participate in public debate on the upcoming congressional reauthorization of the act. “Our client wants to tell the American public about the dangers of allowing the FBI to demand library records without court approval,” ACLU Associate Legal Director Ann Beeson said in an August 26 press release. “If our client could speak, he could explain why Congress should adopt additional safeguards that would limit Patriot Act powers.” The lawsuit said that the Connecticut library, which “is a member of the American Library Association,” “strictly guards the confidentiality and privacy of its library and internet records, and believes it should not be forced to disclose such records without a showing of compelling need and approval by a judge.” The FBI’s power to use national security letters was challenged in September 2004 when a federal district court judge struck down Section 505 as unconstitutional. The DoJ has appealed the ruling. The FBI and DoJ have been reluctant to provide information about the number of times Section 505 has been used to obtain library records. However, a 2005 national survey of academic and public libraries commissioned by the American Library Association’s Office for Information Technology Policy indicates that at least 137 legally executed requests by federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies have taken place since October 2001, 63 in public libraries and 74 in academic libraries. The survey was prompted by the release of an October 15, 2003, DoJ memo that acknowledged provisions of the Patriot Act could be used to obtain information about innocent people, which runs counter to previous assertions that it can only be utilized against suspected terrorists and spies. In addition, former Attorney General John Ashcroft hinted in January that the Patriot Act had been used at a New York City library in connection with the arrest of Mohammed Junaid Babar in 2004. Posted August 26, 2005. |
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