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FBI Not Massively Violating Privacy and Free Expression Rights |
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Bill Olds is a privacy research and columnist on privacy issues for the Hartford Courant. LawMeme applauds the fact that the Courant has a regular column on privacy rights and is a fan of Mr. Olds. However, Mr. Olds' column of November 3rd accused the FBI of surreptitiously bugging all the public computers at the Hartford Public Library in order to obtain leads on terrorism. Moreover, it was claimed, the library was barred from confirming or discussing the matter. If true, this would have been a massive violation of privacy and free expression rights by the government...
Although the Hartford Courant normally leaves stories up for two weeks, and two other columns by Mr. Olds from August are available on the Courant's website (Drug Industry Can Reach You Through Your Pharmacist and Office Computer Bugged?), the article on library bugging has been "disappeared." The column was formerly, here. However, coverage of the article can still be found at the popular sites Slashdot (FBI Bugging Public Libraries) and Disinformation (the fbi has bugged our public libraries).
Fortunately for civil liberties, the article was wrong. Michael J. Wolf, the FBI's Special Agent in Charge for the state of Connecticut, has sent a letter to the publisher of the Hartford Courant denying the charges:
[O]n September 26, 2002, a search warrant ... was executed at the main branch of the Hartford Public Library. A specific computer ... had been used to 'hack' into a business computer system in California for criminal purposes ... The search warrant authorized seizing evidence of criminal activity from the computer. The computer was never removed from the library, nor was any software installed on this or any other computer in the Hartford Public Library by the FBI to monitor computer use.
The director of investigative reporting at the Hartford Courant has confirmed the FBI's version of the story with the head librarian in Hartford.
LawMeme hopes that the Hartford Courant will soon have a correction available at the same URL as the previous location of the column in addition to a prominent correction in the paper and on the website.
Of course, this does not mean that the public should not be vigilant with regard to government surveillance of libraries and circulation records. Please see the American Libraries Association's information page on the USA Patriot Act [PDF] (ALA's Information Page on USA Patriot Act).
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Average Score: 3.66 Votes: 3

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"User's Login" | Login/Create an Account | 3 comments |
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Re: FBI Not Massively Violating Privacy and Free Expression Rights (Score: 2, Informative) by BWCarver on Thursday, November 07 @ 06:33:36 EST (User Info | Send a Message) http://home.earthlink.net/~bwcarver/ | The original article was cached by Google, so you can read it here.
The cached version provides contact info for the author, Bill Olds, who seems to have gotten a little ahead of himself...
BWCarver |
[ Reply to This ]
Re: FBI Not Massively Violating Privacy and Free Expression Rights (Score: 0) by Anonymous (Name Withheld on Advice of Counsel) on Thursday, November 07 @ 13:09:26 EST | The computer was never removed from the library, nor was any software installed on this or any other computer in the Hartford Public Library by the FBI to monitor computer use.
This statement may be true, but it is also meaningless. The FBI's standard practice when they want to monitor a library is to install their own packet-sniffing computer onto the network. Since they are simply connecting their own equipment to the network, they can truthfully say that "no software was installed". |
[ Reply to This ]
Re: FBI Not Massively Violating Privacy and Free Expression Rights (Score: 0) by Anonymous (Name Withheld on Advice of Counsel) on Thursday, November 07 @ 17:51:24 EST | Even if they did not in this instance The FBI has the right to do the things listed ('bug' computers for internet use records and prevent libarians from disclosing this) since October 18, 2002 according to the ALA summary partially reproduced below and indirectly linked to by you. direct link: http://www.ala.org/alaorg/oif/usapatriotlibrary.html
I agree that this is "a massive violation of privacy and free expression rights by the government", but, to me, it is not at all obvious that it is illegal given the USA PATRIOT Act.
Section 215: Access to Records Under Foreign Intelligence Security Act (FISA)
* Allows an FBI agent to obtain a search warrant for “any tangible thing,” which can include books, records, papers, floppy disks, data tapes, and computers with hard drives.
[I'm assuming email falls under "any tangible thing", what wouldn't?]
* Permits the FBI to compel production of library circulation records, Internet use records, and registration information stored in any medium.
* Does not require the agent to demonstrate “probable cause,” the existence of specific facts to support the belief that a crime has been committed or that the items sought are evidence of a crime. Instead, the agent only needs to claim that he believes that the records he wants may be related to an ongoing investigation related to terrorism or intelligence activities, a very low legal standard.
* Libraries or librarians served with a search warrant issued under FISA rules may not disclose, under of penalty of law, the existence of the warrant or the fact that records were produced as a result of the warrant. A patron cannot be told that his or her records were given to the FBI or that he or she is the subject of an FBI investigation.
* Overrides state library confidentiality laws protecting library records.
Codified in law at 50 U.S.C. �1862.
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