Patriot Act Reauthorized with Few Changes
ALA, civil liberties groups voice concern over law’s weak privacy protections
By Laura B. Weiss -- School Library Journal, 4/1/2006
After months of intense debate in Congress over the appropriate balance between individual freedoms and the fight against terrorism, President Bush signed a revised version of the Patriot Act into law on March 9—a day before 16 crucial provisions were set to expire. The House voted 280 to 138 on March 7 to approve a Senate-passed measure that makes several changes to the antiterrorism law.
The American Library Association (ALA) and civil liberty advocates, however, are less than satisfied with the outcome, saying that the law remains weak on civil liberty protections.
The Patriot Act, enacted in the wake of the September 2001 terrorist attacks, gave law enforcement officials nearly unfettered authority to search library, bookstore, and other records in terrorism cases. But the revised law—passed after months of debate and two extensions—gives only a modest nod to protecting library patrons’ privacy rights. One change involves National Security Letters, which are subpoenas for financial and electronic records that do not require a judge’s approval. Libraries functioning in their “traditional capacity” will no longer be subject to such letters.
Unlike the original act, the revised “library clause,” also known as Section 215, now requires that law enforcement officials specifically describe the records they are seeking, limiting the possibility of a fishing expedition. Recipients of Section 215 subpoenas will also have the right to challenge the subpoenas’ nondisclosure or “gag order” requirements. The reauthorization makes permanent all but two of the Patriot Act’s provisions, and Section 215 must be renewed in four years.
The revision is seen as a victory for Bush, who has pushed for reauthorization of the original act with few changes. The president has maintained that the law is an essential terrorist fighting tool and a cornerstone in the war against terrorism. “As we wage the war on terror overseas, we’re also going after the terrorists here at home,” Bush said during a signing ceremony in the White House East Room, “and one of the most important tools we have used to protect the American people is the Patriot Act.”
ALA and civil liberties groups had sought tougher standards in the law—requiring that the records actually be tied to a particular terrorist suspect or to someone in contact with a terrorist. The revised measure, which resulted from negotiations between the administration and four Senate Republicans, also bars the FBI from obtaining the names of lawyers consulted by people whose records have been seized.
ALA President Michael Gorman pledged a renewed fight to win basic rights for libraries and their patrons. “Although most of the moderate, reasonable, and constitutional reforms we sought were not included in the reauthorization bill, our work on restoring privacy and civil liberties to library users is not over,” he says.
Patrice McDermott, deputy director of ALA’s government relations office, says, “[The revised law] brought forward some minor useful changes, but overall we are not satisfied with it.”
