ALA cheers expiration of intrusive PATRIOT Act provision

WASHINGTON, D.C.—On May 31, 2015, key provisions of the USA PATRIOT Act expired. In response, American Library Association (ALA) President Courtney Young released the following statement applauding the expiration of Section 215 of the USA PATRIOT Act:

"The expiration of Section 215 of the USA PATRIOT Act signals a welcome and overdue end to the mass surveillance of Americans' phone calls, emails, and Internet use, as well as the restoration of the Fourth Amendment protections that secure our private lives from unjustified government scrutiny.

"Librarians were one of the first groups to raise the alarm about Section 215's threat to individual civil liberties, and we will continue to fight to protect Americans' right to purchase and borrow books and use the Internet without fear that the government is reading over their shoulder."

About the American Library Association

The American Library Association (ALA) is the oldest and largest library association in the world, with approximately 55,000 members in academic, public, school, government, and special libraries. The mission of the ALA is to provide leadership for the development, promotion and improvement of library and information services and the profession of librarianship in order to enhance learning and ensure access to information for all.