Fergie's Tech Blog

ACLU: Patriot Act, NSL Gag Power is Unconstitutional

Via ACLU.org.

The American Civil Liberties Union appeared before a federal district court today to argue that the reauthorized Patriot Act's National Security Letter (NSL) provision is unconstitutional. The law permits the FBI to gag those who receive NSLs from disclosing that the FBI has sought or obtained information from them.

The case before the court today, Doe v. Gonzales, was originally filed in April 2004 on behalf of an anonymous Internet access company that had received an NSL. Although the FBI has since dropped its NSL demand, the John Doe remains under a gag order. In September 2004, Judge Victor Marrero of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York struck down the Patriot Act NSL provision as unconstitutional, writing that "democracy abhors undue secrecy." The landmark ruling held that permanent gag orders imposed under the NSL law violated free speech rights protected by the First Amendment.

posted by Fergie @ 8/15/2007 02:47:00 PM