No comment needed. The press release speaks for itself.
-------- Original Message --------
Subject: [ALACOUN:10380] ALA President Welcomes Call, Commitment from
U.S. Attorney General
Date: Wed, 17 Sep 2003 15:49:57 -0500
From: "Gerald Hodges" <ghodges@ala.org>
Reply-To: ghodges@ala.org
To: ALA Council List <alacoun@ala1.ala.org>
NEWS
For Immediate Release
Contact: Larra Clark, Press Officer
September 17, 2003
312-280-5043
ALA President welcomes call, commitment from
U.S. Attorney General to declassify some PATRIOT Act reports
CHICAGO - Today, American Library Association (ALA) President Carla
Hayden welcomed a telephone call from U.S. Attorney General John
Ashcroft. In the call, the Attorney General expressed his concern that
people have misunderstood his commitment to civil liberties and
committed to declassify the Justice Department report on Section 215 of
the USA PATRIOT Act.
Section 215 of the USA PATRIOT Act amends the business records
provision of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) to permit
federal agents to obtain library and other types of records when they
are sought "in connection with" a terrorism investigation, rather
than the higher standard of "probable cause" required by the Fourth
Amendment.
"The American Library Association welcomes this commitment from
Attorney General Ashcroft," Hayden said. "We look forward to
learning how the PATRIOT Act is being used in libraries. This is an
important first step toward having the information needed for meaningful
public oversight and accountability. We hope this symbolizes a
significant commitment to ongoing reporting to the American public and
the U.S. Congress. As librarians, we understand the importance of open
access to information. The American public deserves no less."
Several key legislative proposals to amend several sections of the
PATRIOT Act, including Section 215, are now before Congress. The ALA
calls on the American public to reach out to their legislators in
support of these proposals and restore the historical protection of
library records.
The ALA has been vocal on the issues of patron confidentiality and the
protection of privacy. The library community stands ready to continue
to participate in this important public debate and to seek the
accountability and oversight necessary so that we can both counter
terrorism and preserve our democracy's great strengths.
For more information on the USA PATRIOT Act and libraries, please visit
www.ala.org/oif/ifissues/usapatriotact.
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