Libraries post Patriot Act warnings: Santa Cruz branches tell patrons that FBI may spy on them
Libraries in Santa Cruz, CA, are notifying patrons that the materials they check out may wind up in the hands of the federal government. Yes, on the one hand, this may smack of paranoia, but given the reach and breadth of the USA PATRIOT Act, it is a reasonable warning. The frightening thing is that this sort of thing can even take place in a country that still (nominally, at least) values free speech.
Along with the usual reminders to hold the noise down and pay overdue fines, library patrons in Santa Cruz are seeing a new type of sign these days: a warning that records of the books they borrow may wind up in the hands of federal agents.
The signs, posted in the 10 county branches last week and on the library's Web site, also inform the reader that the USA Patriot Act "prohibits library workers from informing you if federal agents have obtained records about you."
"Questions about this policy," patrons are told, "should be directed to Attorney General John Ashcroft, Department of Justice, Washington, D.C. 20530."....
The Justice Department says libraries have become a logical target of surveillance in light of evidence that some Sept. 11 hijackers used library computers to communicate with each other.
But the signs ordered by the Santa Cruz library board -- a more elaborate version of warnings posted in several libraries around the nation -- are adding to the heat now being generated by a once-obscure provision of the Patriot Act.
Section 215 of the act allows FBI agents to obtain a warrant from a secret federal court for library or bookstore records of anyone connected to an investigation of international terrorism or spying.
Unlike conventional search warrants, there is no need for agents to show that the target is suspected of a crime or possesses evidence of a crime. As the Santa Cruz signs indicate, the law prohibits libraries and bookstores from telling their patrons, or anyone else, that the FBI has sought the records.
Most of us do not even realize the degree to which our civil liberties may have been compromised. That our federal government should have the right and the power to obtain this sort of information at any time on anyone it deems worthy of such investigation is an abomination. What checks are in place to ensure that this power is not used to further a political or personal vendetta? The short answer is that there is none. Frankly, that should scare the hell out of any American, regardless of your political persuasion.
Who will speak up when they come for you??
