For immediate release | May 7, 2012

New documentary explores the impact of government surveillance on civil liberties for Choose Privacy Week

CHICAGO — To highlight the 2012 observance of "Choose Privacy Week," the American Library Association's (ALA) Office for Intellectual Freedom (OIF) is debuting a new short documentary, "Vanishing Liberties: The Rise of State Surveillance in the Digital Age," on the Choose Privacy Week website.

The film explores the government's growing use of surveillance tools to watch and monitor immigrant communities, and the proposals to adopt these tools to track the activities of all Americans. It also features commentary from experts and everyday citizens who ask important questions about the impact of the growing surveillance state on national security, civil liberties and privacy rights.

Featured speakers include Michael German, ACLU senior policy counsel for national security and privacy; Margaret Huang, executive director of the Rights Working Group; Paromita Shah, associate director of the National Immigration Project; Julia Shearson, Executive Director at Council on American Islamic Relations – Cleveland; and Vincent Warren, executive director of the Center for Constitutional Rights.

The documentary is available for viewing as a streaming download at the Choose Privacy Week website, www.privacyrevolution.org.

Now in its third year, Choose Privacy Week (May 1-7) is a national public awareness campaign that aims to educate the public about their privacy rights and to deepen public awareness about the serious issue of government surveillance. The campaign seeks to achieve this goal by helping libraries work with their communities to navigate the complicated but vital issues of privacy, government surveillance, and civil liberties. The theme for Choose Privacy Week 2012 is "Freedom from Surveillance."

For more information on Choose Privacy Week, visit www.privacyrevolution.org or contact Deborah Caldwell-Stone, deputy director of the ALA’s Office for Intellectual Freedom, at dstone@ala.org or 312-280-4224.

Contact:

Deborah Ann Caldwell-Stone

Asst Director I

Office for Intellectual Freedom (OIF)

dstone@ala.org

1-800-545-2433 ext.4224