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The National Security Letter provision of the Patriot Act radically expanded the FBI's authority to demand personal records like Web site visits and e-mail addresses without prior court approval. The provision also allows the FBI to forbid or "gag" anyone who receives an NSL from telling anyone about the record demand.
Since the Patriot Act was authorized in 2001, further relaxing restrictions on the FBI's use of the power, the number of NSLs issued has seen an astronomical increase. Reports previously indicated a hundred-fold increase to 30,000 NSLs issued annually, but a March 2007 report from the Justice Department's Inspector General puts the actual number at over 143,000 NSLs issued between 2003 and 2005. The same investigation also found serious FBI abuses of regulations and numerous potential violations of the law.
The ACLU has challenged this Patriot Act statute in court with two cases: one involving an Internet Service Provider; the second a group of librarians. In both cases, the judges found the gags are unconstitutional.
In addition, the ACLU filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request to learn more about the Department of Defense and CIA's use of National Security Letters. In October 2007, the ACLU received over 500 documents from its request. (More >>)
NSL ABUSES
> Roadmap of Justice Department Review of the FBI's Use of NSLs
> National Security Letters by the Numbers
> 5 Myths About the Bush Administration's Use of NSLs
> 12 Questions Congress Needs to Ask
> ACLU Analysis and Recommendations (3/9/2007)
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