Published on Sunday, January 19, 2003 by the Baltimore Sun
The USA Patriot Act: What Are You Reading?
by Bernie Sanders
A HALF a century ago, George Orwell used the famous phrase "Big Brother is watching
you" in his novel 1984. Today, under the provisions of the USA PATRIOT Act, Big Brother
will indeed be watching us every time we use a public library. Or buy a book.
President Bush signed the legislation into law more than a year ago in response to the
terrorist attacks of Sept. 11. There is no doubt that we must be diligent in protecting our
citizens from another terrorist attack. But the threat of terrorism should not be used as an
excuse for the government to intrude on our most cherished constitutional and civil rights.
Proposed remedies should not be more dangerous to our social fabric than the problem
they are supposed to protect us against.
The word "patriot" in the PATRIOT Act is an acronym that spells out as "Providing
Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism."
Libraries and bookstores have always been a source of knowledge and information in this
country. The right to read without the fear of government surveillance is a cornerstone of our
democracy. Freedom of the press means nothing without a corresponding freedom to read.
Open and democratic debate is impossible without free and open access to diverse views
and a broad array of information.
The PATRIOT Act expanded police monitoring and investigation of our libraries and
booksellers, greatly increasing the reach of federal authorities. Under the act, investigators
are authorized to seek a search warrant for "any tangible things" in a library or bookstore, a
category that easily includes book circulation or purchase records, library papers, floppy
disks and computer hard drives. This legislation also enables the FBI to require libraries to
turn over library circulation records, patron registration information and Internet use records.
In the past, librarians and booksellers have always been willing to assist law enforcement
officials when the courts deemed their assistance necessary. But until recently, the
government could not go on fishing expeditions by sifting through the borrowing records of
libraries. Formerly, an FBI agent was required to provide specific evidence to show
"probable cause" in justifying why a search warrant was needed for a criminal investigation.
Under the PATRIOT Act, an agent must explain only why he or she believes that the
records "may" be related to an ongoing terrorism or intelligence investigation before being
allowed to get a search warrant. This significantly curtails privacy protections, for it
dramatically lowers the threshold, from requiring evidence to merely stating a personal
belief.
Internet access and e-mail, which in our age are so central to communication, are also
affected by the new law.
After obtaining a warrant, federal authorities will be able to track all the Web sites people
visit from library computers and obtain their e-mail addresses and the addresses of all with
whom they communicate. The authorities can monitor e-mail correspondence as well - all
this without a library being able to inform its patrons that such surveillance is taking place.
Even individuals not under suspicion could have their activities tracked if they use a library
computer that is monitored.
The PATRIOT Act also exacerbates the threat to individual liberty and privacy and should
be of special concern to librarians. Under this legislation, librarians will be under a "gag
order," punishable by law, that will prevent them from informing library patrons that their
records were turned over to the FBI or are subject to ongoing monitoring.
Members of Congress of all political persuasions have asked the Justice Department to
show how it is using its new powers. But the response has frightening: Most of the
information regarding libraries and bookstores has been deemed "confidential" and has not
been supplied to Congress.
Nor have national organizations filing a request under the Freedom of Information Act been
able to obtain statistical information regarding how many times the government has used
its expanded wiretap authorities under the PATRIOT Act. (An informal survey done by the
University of Illinois found that 83 libraries across the county have been visited by
authorities since the Sept. 11 attacks.)
Libraries serve many people, both those who cannot afford to buy books and those for
whom shared community resources make it possible to do serious research or expand
their intellectual horizons. For those who do not have a computer or cannot afford the cost
of Internet access at home - from $250 to $600 a year - libraries are critical to their access
to electronic information and communications. Today, many librarians fear that their
patrons have already begun to self-censor their library use due to fear of government
surveillance.
In Congress, working with other concerned members, I will introduce legislation that will
exempt libraries and booksellers from those parts of the PATRIOT Act that infringe on our
constitutional rights.
At the same time, we will propose strengthening Congress' oversight role over the PATRIOT
Act to ensure that those who use libraries remain free from all unnecessary government
surveillance into their personal lives and reading habits.
Bernie Sanders represents Vermont as an independent in the U.S. House of
Representatives.
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