The Congressional Research Service has issued a new report on current legislation to amend FISA - the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. These bills cover a variety of issues. I've pulled out explicit library impacts below, though other provisions certainly affect libraries as well.
Selected excerpts from Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act: Selected Legislation from the 108th Congress Updated September 30, 2004 by Elizabeth B. Bazan, Legislative Attorney, American Law Division, Congressional Research Service, Library of Congress - Order Code RL32608
H.R. 1157. Freedom to Read Protection Act. Amends FISA to preclude an application for an order seeking or having the effect of searching for or seizing records of a bookseller or library documentary materials concerning personally identifiable information regarding a patron of the library or bookstore. It does not preclude a physical search for such documentary materials under another provision of law.
H.R. 2800. Foreign Operations, Export Financing, and Related Program Appropriations Act, 2004 bars the use of funds by the State Department to support an application under FISA for an order requiring the production of library circulation records, library patron lists, library Internet records, bookseller sales records, or bookseller customer lists.
H.Amdt. 652 to H.R. 4754. An amendment to add a new section to the Commerce-Justice-State appropriations bill prohibiting funds from being made available to make an application underFISA for an order requiring production of library circulation records, library patron lists, library internet records, book sales records, or book customer lists.
S. 1158. Library and Bookseller Protection Act. A bill to exempt bookstores and libraries from FISA orders requiring the production of tangible things for foreign intelligence investigations, and to exempt libraries from counterintelligence access to certain records, ensuring that libraries and bookstores are subjected to the regular system of court ordered warrants. Does not preclude a physical search for such documentary materials under another provision of law.
S. 1507. Library, Bookseller, and Personal Records Privacy Act would require that applications for FISA orders for production of books, records, papers, documents, or other tangible things, must specify that there are specific and articulable facts giving reason to believe that the person to whom the records pertain is a foreign power or agent of a foreign power, and that the court, in issuing its order find that there are specific and articulable facts giving reason to believe that the person to whom the records pertain is a foreign power or an agent of a foreign power and that the application meets the other requirements of 50 U.S.C. § 1861.
S. 1552. Protecting the Rights of Individuals Act amends FISA business records provision, to add as an additional requirement for an application for a court order that it “include a statement of the facts and circumstances relied upon by the applicant to justify the applicant’s belief that the person to whom the records pertain is a foreign power or an agent of a foreign power.” Also provides that a judge shall enter an ex parte order as requested or modified approving the release of records if the judge finds reason to believe that the person to whom the records pertain is a foreign power or an agent of a foreign power; or, in the case of medical records, library records, other records involving purchase or rental of books, video, or music, or accessing of legal and publicly available information through the internet, that there is probable cause that the person to whom the records pertain is a foreign power or an agent of a foreign power.
S. 1709. Security and Freedom Ensured Act of 2003 or the SAFE Act would amend the roving wiretap provisions of FISA to require that an order approving such electronic surveillance must specify either the identity of the target or the places and facilities to which the electronic surveillance is to be directed. In cases where the facility or place is not known at the time of the issuance of the order, Sec. 2 of the bill would require that the electronic surveillance only be conducted when the person conducting the surveillance has ascertained that the target is present at a particular facility or place. Sec. 4 of the bill would require that applications for FISA orders for production of books, records, papers, documents, or other tangible things under 50 U.S.C. § 1861, must specify that there are specific and articulable facts giving reason to believe that the person to whom the records pertain is a foreign power or agent of a foreign power, and that the court, in issuing its order find that there are specific and articulable facts giving reason to believe that the person to whom the records pertain is a foreign power or an agent of a foreign power and that the application meets the other requirements of 50 U.S.C. § 1861.
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