An on- and offline bookseller has told the New York Times the Patriot Act could threaten e-commerce's growth, by way of the controversial section that allows the FBI with a judge's order compel citizens or businesses to hand over anything the bureau thinks pertinent to terrorism or espionage cases, unless the probe is based solely on acts the Constitution protects.
Arundel Books founder/chief executive Philip Bevis has told the Times he keeps little customer data since the act was passed, especially since he was handed an FBI subpoena asking for over six years worth of such data a month before the September 11, 2001 atrocities – over a probe into campaign contributions to former U.S. Sen. Robert Torricelli (D. New Jersey), being investigated over illegal gifts and cash.
"Unfortunately, that restricts our ability to serve our customers," Mr. Bevis said of his policy since then. "We've had to stop customer follow-on contact, we've disabled the software that tracks customer purchases - all the things that turn a transaction into a continuing customer relationship."
The Justice Department has dismissed risks of the Patriot Act, but Bevis and others tell the Times Section 215, addressing the customer data subpoena power, say it could yet pose a truly chilling effect on their businesses, in cyberspace and in the brick and mortar world.
The language of the Act does not allow the FBI to obtain such subpoenas solely on a suspect's radical or otherwise unconventional statements or publications, as the Times said, but it does so specifically if the suspect was believed to buy a book on bombmaking and a judge decided bookstore records would be relevant to the case.
For Bevis, it means he can't guarantee his own privacy policies upheld by other booksellers online through whom he sells books, including AbeBooks.com, which told the Times it was reviewing its own privacy policy to address Bevis's and other suppliers' concerns.
"We've come so far in the customers' comfort level with buying online," said AbeBooks.com marketing manager Marci Crossan to the paper, "that we just hope this issue doesn't take us back a few steps." AbeBooks.com's policy now says they may disclose some personal information to "a government institution that has asserted its lawful authority to obtain the information," but that is expected now to change.
Forrester Research analyst Christopher Kelley told the Times these and similar fears are warranted by everyone. "Depending on how far the government goes," he told the paper, "this issue will be so much broader than books and movies. Think about hardware stores and other places where terrorists might buy things. This has the potential to explode into an issue that would impact a lot of retailers and consumers."
