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ACLU of Florida Urges Libraries to Warn Patrons of Government's New Domestic Spying Powers Under the USA PATRIOT ACT
July 30, 2003
MIAMI - The ACLU of Florida today urged librarians statewide to post placards that warn the public about an invasive provision of the USA PATRIOT Act that expands the FBI's power to spy on ordinary people living in the United States. The action comes on the same day that the National ACLU filed the first lawsuit challenging Section 215 of the USA Patriot Act.
"No one should have to worry that the FBI is reading their email, rifling through their medical records, or forcing libraries and bookstores to turn over information on their customers and patrons," said Howard Simon, Executive Director of the ACLU of Florida. "Giving the FBI unchecked authority to monitor the activities of people who are not suspected of involvement in terrorism or without having to show evidence of any wrongdoing is an invitation to abuse and moves the country dangerously down the road to a police state. It sacrifices essential freedoms, and certainly does not make us any safer."
Specifically, Section 215 of the USA PATRIOT Act permits the FBI to seek an order "for any tangible things (including books, records, papers, documents, and other items) for an investigation to protect against international terrorism or clandestine intelligence activities." In addition, a gag order in the law prevents those served with Section 215 orders from telling anyone - ever - that the FBI demanded information, even if the information is not tied to a particular suspect and poses no risk to national security.
The ACLU of Florida will be mailing letters and posters to 67 county libraries across Florida and 10 state university library systems in an effort to educate librarians about Section 215 of the USA Patriot Act, which also gives the government the power to search library and bookstore records to find out which books individuals have borrowed or purchased and nullifies the free speech right of the bookstore or library to disclose the search. The ACLU is urging librarians in Florida to post placards warning patrons that their library records could become the target of government surveillance.
"It is no one else's business what you are reading when you borrow a book from the library," said Dr. Laurence Miller, Executive Director of FIU University Libraries, and a board member of the Florida Library Association. "But since the USA PATRIOT Act passed, all that has changed. Now, our right to read is under threat from surveillance laws that affect everyone's privacy and free speech."
Librarians across the country have been important allies in fighting the Patriot Act. Some librarians, in California and Idaho for example, have worked to minimize Section 215's impact on their patrons by shredding patron records after library books are returned, notifying patrons their records are at risk, and educating the public about the problems with the law. In Florida, librarians are reviewing their records retention policies and expunging so-called "use records" whenever possible, said Dr. Miller.
The ACLU is seeking to curb the use of Section 215 not only in libraries, but all other places that are at risk, such as bookstores, hospitals and doctor's offices. In a complaint filed today in federal court, the ACLU argues that Section 215 of the USA PATRIOT Act violates the privacy rights of all Americans and threatens their First Amendment rights to say what they want, associate with the groups they choose, and freely practice their religion. The case was filed in Detroit on behalf of six advocacy and community groups from across the country whose members and clients believe they are currently the targets of investigations because of their ethnicity, religion and political associations. The lawsuit names Attorney General John Ashcroft and FBI Director Robert Mueller as the defendants.
