DoJ loses Security Letters
p2pnet.net News:- The American Civil Liberties Union has won a “tremendous victory” for online privacy, today, with ACLU & Doe v. Ashcroft, challenging the constitutionality of National Security Letters (NSLs) under the USA PATRIOT Act, says the EFFÂ (Electronic Frontier Foundation).
The superlatives are accurate.
The FBI uses NSLs to demand detailed information about people’s private Net communications from ISPs, web mail providers and other communications service providers.
Unlikely as it seems, they can be issued directly by FBI agents without court supervision and without probable cause and without any court oversight, can be used to demand sensitive financial and communications information about citizens even if they’re not suspected of a crime.
Moreover, when ISPs receive NSLs, they can’t reveal their existence. Period.
“Before PATRIOT, the FBI could use National Security Letters only for securing the records of suspected terrorists or spies,” says EFF attorney and Equal Justice Works Fellow Kevin Bankston said recently.
“Now the FBI can use them to get private records about anybody it thinks could be relevant to a terrorism or espionage investigation, without ever having to show probable cause to a judge.”
A federal court ruled the statute authorizing NSLs is unconstitutional and barred the US Department of Justice from issuing further NSLs, says the EFF which together with several ISPs and privacy organizations, filed an amicus brief in the case.
“US District Court Judge Victor Marreo also found the gag provision an unconstitutional prior restraint on protected speech.”
However, it’s unlikley the DoJ will give up NSLs without a fight and th EFF believes the case will be appealed to the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals in New York.
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See:-
NSLs – National Security Letters challenged, p2pnet, May 25, 2004
September 30th, 2004 at 4:00 am
Today is a GOOD DAY!!!!! Chauck one up for the GOOD GUYS!!!!!!!!!!