Thursday, April 21, 2011

Call to Action! Senate Will Vote on Reader Privacy Protections

It didn’t make the network news, but a recent vote in the Senate Judiciary Committee was an important step forward in the 10-year battle that booksellers and librarians have been waging to restore the safeguards for reader privacy that were eliminated by the USA Patriot Act.

Under Section 215 of the Patriot Act, the FBI can search any bookstore or library records that it considers “relevant” to a terrorist investigation, including the records of people who are not suspected of criminal conduct, much less terrorism.We believe that the right to read what we choose without the fear of the government looking over our shoulders is an essential freedom.So we were encouraged when the Judiciary Committee approved S. 193, a bill that limits Patriot Act searches to the records of people who are suspected of terrorism.

This is an important reform that does not threaten national security. It has the support of both Attorney General Eric Holder and Senator Dianne Feinstein, the chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee. Utah’s own Mike Lee voted in favor of the legislation when it was before the Senate Judiciary Committee.

But the vote in the Judiciary is only the first step. Now the full Senate and the House must also act. It is crucial that supporters of reader privacy contact their Congressional representatives now. Please join us in urging Senators Lee and Hatch to vote for S. 193. A vote could occur in the next few weeks.

For more information, visit the Campaign for Reader Privacy, and stay tuned! We will be reporting on the progress of this battle.

Catherine and Tony Weller

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