Book, Library Groups Seek Reader Privacy

Posted on July 2, 2004

Groups representing booksellers, librarians and writers have launched a nationwide effort to obtain one million signatures in support of legislation to amend Section 215 of the USA Patriot Act. The groups hope to persuade Congress to restore safeguards for the privacy of bookstore and library records that were eliminated by the Act.

The Campaign for Reader Privacy -- sponsored by the American Booksellers Association, the American Library Association and PEN American Center -- are gathering signatures in bookstores, libraries and on a new website, readerprivacy.org. Over the last year, Republicans, Democrats and Independents have joined to sponsor a number of bills to amend Section 215 of the Patriot Act, including the Freedom to Read Protection Act (H.R. 1157) and the Security and Freedom Ensured (SAFE) Act, S. 1709.

Rep. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) plans to introduce the amendment next Wednesday or Thursday. Mr. Sanders introduced the Freedom to Read Protection Act early in the 108th Congress and has attracted 145 bi-partisan co-sponsors including Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX), Rep. John Conyers, Jr. (D-MI), and Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-NY). So far, the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee has refused to hold a hearing on that bill.

The American Library Association (ALA) has expressed its support for a proposed amendment to the House Commerce, Justice, State (CJS) appropriations bill, which funds the Justice Department, barring the Department from using any of the appropriated money to search bookstore and library records under Section 215 of the Patriot Act.

Section 215 of the Patriot Act amended the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) to give the FBI expanded authority to search business records, including the records of bookstores and libraries: the FBI may request the records secretly; it is not required to prove that there is "probable cause" to believe the person whose records are being sought has committed a crime; and the bookseller or librarian who receives an order is prohibited from revealing it to anyone except those whose help is needed to produce the records.

The Bush administration opposes changes in Section 215. Attorney General John Ashcroft has characterized concern over the privacy of bookstore and library records as "hysteria." In his State of the Union message on January 20, President George Bush called on Congress to reauthorize the provisions of the Patriot Act that are due to expire at the end of next year, including Section 215.

"Our concerns about privacy are far from hysterical. The federal government has attempted to monitor library records before and it seems inevitable that they will use Section 215 to try again," said Judith F. Krug, director of the ALA's Office for Intellectual Freedom.