On Friday, we had the great pleasure of interviewing Brewster Kahle, cofounder of the Internet Archive, and Kurt Opsahl, Senior Staff Attorney at the Electronic Frontier Foundation. Both men were recently released from a gag order issued by the FBI. They gladly shared their story of abuse by the executive branch of the federal government with us.
The Internet Archive is a digital library and requires user registration, like a library card, for use of some services. In November 2007, The FBI demanded information of a library patron from the Internet Archive using a national security letter.
National security letters (commonly referred to by its acronym NSL) are one tool originally given to the FBI by Congress for urgent investigation of terrorism and espionage. National security letters differ from traditional subpoenas in that they can be issued and enforced by a single branch of government and not centrally tracked. Additionally, the letters can be issued with a gag order, preventing the recipient from talking to anyone except his or her lawyer regarding the letter.
The Electronic Frontier Foundation and several other organizations sued the FBI on behalf of the Internet Archive. They argued that the Internet Archive did not have to provide the information demanded by the FBI, as libraries were given an exemption from national security letters by Congress, and, even if they were not exempt, the law that created national security letters was unconstitutional. The unconstitutional argument stated that the gag order violated the first amendment by suppressing free speech without judicial review and, similarly, the fifth amendment by giving the executive branch exclusive power to suppress speech.
The Department of Justice, representing the FBI, offered to settle the lawsuit by retracting the national security letter sent to the Internet Archive. The Internet Archive and EFF agreed to the settlement on the condition that the gag order was lifted. Removal of the gag order was imperative for the Internet Archive and EFF so that other libraries and individuals would know that you can stand up for your rights and win. We will be posting this inspiring interview in the coming weeks.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.