Groups Call for Meaningful Reader Privacy Protection in Patriot Act Reauthorization

The American Booksellers Association today joined with its partners in the Campaign for Reader Privacy in urging Congress to expand proposed protections for library records in a Patriot Act reauthorization bill to encompass all books -- whether borrowed or purchased. Calling draft revisions to the Patriot Act "positive but inadequate," the groups, called on Congress to address the root causes of public concerns about Patriot Act powers that enable the government easy access to information about what people are reading.

Section 215 of the Patriot Act, which is set to expire at the end of the year, allows the FBI to obtain any "tangible thing," including business records that are "relevant" to an ongoing investigation. In approving legislation extending Section 215 for another four years, the Senate Judiciary Committee last week acknowledged privacy concerns by providing additional protections for library records. A Section 215 order can be used to obtain "library records or patron lists," only when those records pertain directly to someone suspected of terrorism or espionage. However, this added protection would not apply to the records of bookstore customers. They can still be searched even when the customer is not suspected of criminal conduct.

"We are very encouraged that the Senate Judiciary Committee has recognized the importance of protecting reader privacy, but they have missed a critical step," said Chris Finan, president of the American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression. "We are going to keep fighting until both bookstore and library records are protected."

"Although we appreciate the heightened protection afforded library records, in the interest of safeguarding reader privacy and preventing the government from reading over the shoulders of law-abiding Americans, this protection must extend to booksellers' title-specific sales records," said Tom Allen, president and CEO of the Association of American Publishers, in a statement. "It makes no sense to safeguard the First Amendment rights of Americans who borrow books while denying that protection to Americans who buy their books. In both instances, reader privacy must be maintained."

The Campaign for Reader Privacy has endorsed the JUSTICE Act of 2009 (S. 1686), a bill introduced by Senators Russ Feingold (D-WI) and Dick Durbin (D-IL). S. 1686 addresses a range of civil liberties concerns about the Patriot Act, including the abuses of National Security Letters (NSLs) documented by the Justice Department's Inspector General. It provides protections for both bookstore and library records.

The Campaign for Reader Privacy is urging supporters to contact their members of Congress in both the House and the Senate. In the Senate, they can urge support for floor amendments that implement the reforms called for by S. 1686. In the House, where the Judiciary Committee will soon consider its own reauthorization bill, they can demand that reader privacy be protected in both bookstores and libraries.

Other members of the Campaign for Reader Privacy, who along with ABA have been working for five years to restore safeguards for reader privacy that were eliminated by the Patriot Act, are the American Library Association, the Association of American Publishers, and PEN American Center. The groups have been pressing Congress to limit Patriot Act searches to the records of people who are suspected of terrorism and to make it easier for librarians and booksellers to challenge NSL and Section 215 orders in court and limit the length and scope of the accompanying gag orders.