Friday 2 November 2007

Surveillance librarians?

The Washington Post and the Chronicle of Higher Ed. Wired Campus report today that the Association of Research Libraries, the American Library Association, and the Association of American Universities are lobbying against measures in the House and Senate that would grant federal intelligence agencies greater latitude in gathering data on library patrons. Draft House and Senate bills would allow the government to compel any "communications service provider" to provide access to e-mails and other electronic information within the United States as part of federal surveillance of non-U.S. citizens outside the country. The library groups are lobbying to have the bill amended to make clear that the term "communications provider" does not include libraries.

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