USA PATRIOT Act

An Introduction

The USA PATRIOT Act (Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act P.L. 107-56) [HTML] [PDF] was enacted on October 25, 2001 in the wake of the events of September 11th. While much of the legislation is recycled (it amended 15 different statutes, including wiretap, immigration, and money laundering laws), the Act gives both domestic law enforcement and international agencies increased access to people and information. To complicate the issue, there is no mechanism for ensuring compliance by law enforcement, since it is impossible to trace subpoenas and warrants under the secrecy demanded by the USA PA.

The act was passed just six weeks after it was introduced. It is a powerful piece of legislation in that information on any person can be subpoenaed and if the person is suspected of terrorist activities, they have no right to know they are being investigated. Nor, once arrested, do they have the right to know the content of the charges against them.

Within the USA PATRIOT Act’s 342 pages, 47 directly apply to libraries or rather, "Enhanced Surveillance Procedures." The bulk of which pertains to the government's authority to intercept wire, oral, and electronic communications relating to terrorism.

What are the implications of the USA PA for libraries? The USA PA broadly expands law enforcement's surveillance and investigative powers. Some librarians and library organizations believe that the act threatens the privacy of library patrons, and that it could potentially mean a loss of access to information, and the diminishment of academic freedom. Libraries may be directly affected as their patrons self-censor, use alternative resources, or stop using the library for fear of governmental harassment.

In the UC Libraries access to personal information is restricted to library staff who need it to conduct library business. Personal information is never used for commercial purposes and it will not be revealed to any third party except by such process, order, or subpoena authorized by law. The library is supported in this goal by national, state and local laws, as well as through University of California policies.

Links Related to the USA PATRIOT Act

LAUC Resolution on the USA PATRIOT Act, the Homeland Security Act, and Related Measures that Infringe on the Rights of Library Users
A resolution written and passed by the Librarians Association of the University of California.

Library Records Post-Patriot Act (Federal Law)
This chart, developed by Mary Minow, attorney, a former librarian and library trustee, is the basic primer all librarians need to read before law enforcement visits.

Life and Liberty
The Web site put up by the Justice Department in defense of the USA PATRIOT Act. Officials say that the site is aimed at "dispelling some of the major myths perpetuated as part of the disinformation campaign" by critics of the act.

PATRIOT Act II (draft)
In February 2003, the non-partisan Center for Public Integrity obtained a closely-guarded document that shows plans for a sweeping expansion of the government's police powers. This document has yet to see its day in Congress. The legislation, nicknamed Son of PATRIOT Act, would broadly expand the government's surveillance and detention powers. Among other measures, it calls for the creation of a terrorist DNA database and allows the attorney general to revoke citizenship of those who provide "material support" to terrorist groups.