A recent release explained that the Patriot Act’s infamous Section 215 grants the FBI the power to seize a vast array of sensitive personal information and belongings including medical, library and business records using a secret intelligence court that does not require any suspicion of individual criminal activity.
The Patriot Act was formed in response to the terrorist attacks against the U.S., and dramatically expands the authority of U.S. law enforcement, including the censorship of certain library books the Federal Government deems questionable.This far-ranging list of the most frequently banned books included Madonna’s "Sex" and "Private Parts" by Howard Stern.
In addition, under the Patriot Act, federal agents may force some librarians to turn over a record of books a person has checked out and never inform that citizen of the request.
Although a court order is required to obtain these records, the release continued, judges are compelled to issue them, making judicial review in this process nothing more than a rubber stamp.
The press release from the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) went on to say that the FBI can use this new power to spy on innocent people. Those people forced by the FBI to provide this information - whether a newspaper editor, librarian or website publisher - could go to jail if they tell anybody anything about it.
The ACLU concludes by saying that giving our government this kind of power to spy on innocent people is un-American.
