Free Expression

By Michael Katzenberg The topic of customer privacy in the age of the USA Patriot Act -- a law that gives the FBI expanded powers to search bookstore and library records -- is a serious issue that concerns all independent booksellers, who fear the day when the FBI comes to demand information about customers' book purchases.

At present, 58 fellow members of Congress have joined Rep. Bernie Sanders in introducing federal legislation that would remove a threat created by the USA Patriot Act to the privacy of bookstore and library records. The bill, H.R. 1157, the Freedom to Read Protection Act, would prevent the FBI from seeking "personally identifiable information concerning a patron of a bookseller or library." However, the government could still attempt to subpoena this information if it can make sufficient legal showing.

In early March, Rep. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) introduced the Freedom to Read Protection Act (H.R. 1157), federal legislation that would remove a threat to the privacy of bookstore and library records posed by Section 215 of the USA Patriot Act. Though the bill has 58 co-sponsors thus far, Congressman Ron Paul (R-TX), one of the sponsors of the bill, urged booksellers to rally behind H.R. 1157 so that more members of the House would support the bill.

Keeping Customer Records in the Age of the USA Patriot Act By Chuck Robinson

Chris Finan By Chris Finan, ABFFE President Political courage is usually in short supply, but there was a lot of it on display at a press conference on Capitol Hill in Washington on March 6.

On March 6, the Third U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia ruled for the second time that the Child Online Protection Act (COPA) is unconstitutional. The court found that COPA violates adults' right to free speech, is overly broad, and fails "the strict scrutiny test." It is expected that the Justice Department will appeal the decision to the U.S. Supreme Court.

On March 6, 2003, Congressman Bernie Sanders (I-VT) introduced the Freedom to Read Protection Act of 2003, federal legislation that would remove a threat to the privacy of bookstore and library records that was created by the USA Patriot Act. At present, the proposed amendment has 26 co-sponsors, including Ron Paul (R-TX) and John Conyers (D-MI), the ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee.

Twenty-six fellow members of Congress have joined Rep. Bernie Sanders in introducing federal legislation that would remove a threat to the privacy of bookstore and library records, created by the USA Patriot Act. Under the provisions of H.R. 1157, The Freedom to Read Protection Act, the FBI would be barred from seeking "personally identifiable information concerning a patron of a bookseller or library." The government may still attempt to subpoena this information if it can make sufficient legal showing.

The American Library Association's (ALA) and American Civil Liberties Union's (ACLU) legal challenge of a federal library filtering law continues. On March 5, the U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments regarding the government's appeal of a lower court's ruling last May that the Children's Internet Protection Act (CIPA) is unconstitutional. CIPA would require public libraries seeking government subsidies to install filtering software to block materials considered obscene, child pornography, or "harmful to minors."

At a press conference held today in Washington, D.C., Congressman Bernie Sanders (I-VT) introduced federal legislation that would remove a threat to the privacy of bookstore and library records, created by the USA Patriot Act. At present, the proposed amendment, called the Freedom to Read Protection Act of 2003, has 24 co-sponsors, including Ron Paul (R-TX).