This commentary, Why the ACLU Is Right To Challenge The FBI’s Access to Library, Bookstore, and Business Records Under the USA PATRIOT Act, by Anita Ramasastry, focuses on the privacy issues and related lawsuits associated with the FBI’s ability to invoke Sec. 215, the Access to Records and Other Items Under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance… Continue Reading
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Category Archives: Patriot Act
Lawyer’s Cmte. Rebuts Statements by AG on Patriot Act
The Lawyer’s Committee for Human Rights issued a media alert that responds to specific statements in support of the Patriot Act made by Attorney General Ashcroft in a speech he delivered at the American Enterprise Institute on August 19. Continue Reading
ACLU Respondes to DOJ Pro Patriot Act Website
PATRIOT Propaganda: Justice Department’s PATRIOT Act Website Creates New Myths About Controversial Law. See also my previous posting on the Preserving Life & Liberty website. Continue Reading
ACLU Hosts Online Forum on CAPPS II and Privacy
Links to resources from today’s ACLU forum, “CAPPS II: Passenger Screening and Privacy Concerns,” are as follows: press release Remarks by Laura W. Murphy, Director, ACLU Washington Legislative Office Fact Sheet: The Five Problems With CAPPS II: Why the Airline Passenger Profiling Proposal Should Be Abandoned Continue Reading
Questions for Ashcroft On His Patriot Act Campaign
The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press has issued a list of questions for reporters to ask Attorney General Ashcroft as he pursues his national PR campaign in support of the Patriot Act. The questions focus on the impact of Sec. 215 of the Act (Access to Records and Other Items Under the Foreign… Continue Reading
DOJ Website Promotes Benefits of PATRIOT Act
The Department of Justice is hosting what can only be described as a PR website, Preserving Life & Liberty, that promotes the USA PATRIOT Act. The site links to documents that include: major speeches by Attorney General Ashcroft, a list of point/counterpoint statements that are presented using the caption “Myth” vs. “Realty”; a detailed Senate… Continue Reading
Controversy Accompanies Draft VICTORY Act Legislation
The National Consumer Privacy Coalition Group obtained a draft of the VICTORY Act (Vital Interdiction of Criminal Terrorist Organizations Act of 2003), which has been circulated on Capitol Hill, but a copy of which I have yet to find posted on the web (please contact me if you have a link). This article indicates that… Continue Reading
Patriot Act Facilitates Increased Gov’t Demand for Customer Data
Although there has been considerable focus on the Patriot Act as it impacts libraries, this Atlanta-Journal Constitution article details the wider impact of law enforcement’s significantly increased demand for customer data from businesses that range from scuba shops to telecommunications companies. Examples from the article include the following: “Last year, before the Memorial Day weekend,… Continue Reading
Recent Patriot Act Lawsuits
Watching the Watchers – First two lawsuits challenging the Patriot Act likely aren’t the last. For links to the first case referenced in the above article, see my July 30 posting, Lawsuit on Patriot Act. A synopsis of the second lawsuit, Humanitarian Law Project, et al. v. Ashcroft, is provided by the Center for Constitutional… Continue Reading
ACLU Report on Patriot Act
Unpatriotic Acts: The FBI’s Power to Rifle Through Your Records and Personal Belongings Without Telling You, July 2003, from the ACLU. The focus of this 26 page report (pdf) is an examination of, along with related resources and legal documents on, Section 215 of the USA Patriot Act, “which gives the FBI unprecedented access to… Continue Reading
New Privacy Bill: Protecting the Rights of Individuals Act
From the American Library Association Washington Office Newsline: “Last night, July 31, Senators Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) and Ron Wyden (D-OR), introduced the “Protecting the Rights of Individuals Act.” (S. 1552) This bill contains many provisions that will help to restore some protections of civil liberties weakened by the USA PATRIOT Act. Several provisions are of… Continue Reading
Library, Bookseller, and Personal Records Privacy Act
From the American Library Association Washington Office Newsline: “On July 31, 2003, Senator Feingold (D-WI), joined by Senators Bingaman (D-NM), Kennedy (D-MA), Cantwell (D-WA), Durbin (D-IL), Wyden (D-OR), Corzine (D-NJ), Akaka (D-HI), and Jeffords (I-VT), introduced the Library, Bookseller, and Personal Records Privacy Act (S. 1507). The bill would amend the PATRIOT Act to protect… Continue Reading
