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The USA PATRIOT Act: in regards to our libraries
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The USA PATRIOT Act:
in regards to our libraries
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The USA PATRIOT Act
• United & Strengthening America by
Providing Appropriate Tools Required to
Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act.• Signed into law by President Bush on Oct
26, 2001.
• a response to the terrorists attacks of
September 11th to give law enforcement
agencies broader powers to gather intelligence on suspected terrorists.
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Section 215 of the Patriot Act
• The “library provision”
• The FBI can seize “any tangible
thing” • Electronic records and communications
• Patron’s Personal Information
• NSLs: National Security Letters• Means to avoid a judicial approval for a
search warrant
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The Fourth Amendment
• "The right of people to be secure in their
persons, houses, papers, and effects,
against unreasonable searches andseizures, shall not be violated…”
• the Fourth Amendment protects against
the intrusion of privacy and whatindividuals wish to keep private.
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Privacy Rights and Concerns
• No Federal laws protect individuals’privacy rights to their library records andactivities.
• There are only state laws and statutes for this protection; they are neither consistentor infallible.
• The FBI does not need to have probable
cause, only "reasonable grounds tobelieve that the tangible things soughtare relevant to an authorizedinvestigation."
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What to librarians think?
• ALA Code of Ethics, Section III: "We
protect each library user's right to privacy
and confidentiality with respect toinformation sought or received, and
resources consulted, borrowed, acquired or
transmitted."
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What to librarians believe?
• In the freedom of individuals toaccess information and read
anything they desire.• Individuals have the right to do so
privately and confidentially.
• USA PATRIOT Act infringes onconstitutional rights to privacy for library users.
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How to deal with the Patriot Act
• New York Library Association:"libraries should review internal
record keeping procedures toensure that records identifying libraryusers are limited to those essential
for library operation."
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How to deal with the Patriot Act
• Libraries must remember their role as the
protector and guardian of their patrons’
privacy.
• Personal information the library decides
to keep may have unforeseen
consequences that compromise thelibrary's core principles.
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Keys to patrons’ privacy
• Properly react, manage, and know howto handle court orders.
• Limit personally identifiable patroninformation.
• Determine what information and recordsregarding patrons is essential to the
library's operation.• If certain records and information is not
essential, then it should not be kept onfile.
