A recent SCBWI newsletter contained heartening news for readers, libraries, and booksellers: the House of Representatives voted to cut funding for that part of the Patriot Act that allows the FBI to subpoena library and bookseller records. The American Library Association has a lot of great information and articleson the issue. Booksellers, of course, were pleased. According to the newsletter, the executive branch claims it has never used the Patriot Act to obtain library records, but the ALA reports over 200 instances since 2001 of federal agents asking librarians for information about patrons. However, since the Patriot Act's subpoenas are secret, it's impossible to know how many of these instances were related to the Patriot Act.
1 comment:
WHOO HOO!
I have ALWAYS thought this was the SUCKIEST thing about the Patriot Act. No, wait. There are a BUNCH MORE SUCKY THINGS about it, but this one really was too 1984 to be believed. I'm excited. Now, back to my novels of world domination...
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