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CORE FREEDOMS ISSUES: RIGHT TO PRIVACY
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Protecting the personal privacy necessary for the free exploration of information and ideas.
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• Section 215 & Bookstore/Library Records
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 The Campaign for Reader Privacy was launched in 2004 to restore the safeguards for reader privacy that were eliminated by the USA Patriot Act. PEN joined the American Library Association and the American Booksellers Association to conduct a nationwide petition drive that netted more than 130,000 signatures, held two Capitol Hill press conferences, advised key lawmakers on corrective legislation, and mobilized letter-writing and call-in campaigns around key votes.
>> Learn more & take action
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• National Security Letters
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The Campaign has also worked to end the widespread abuse of National Security Letters (NSLs) by the FBI. In Congress, PEN arranged for a Connecticut librarian who had successfully challenged a National Security Letter seeking patron records to appear before the Senate Judiciary Committee, dramatically illustrating for Congress and the American people the dangers posed by the unchecked authority to issue NSLs. Since that testimony, PEN has worked with Senate allies to develop legislation to end the abuses, an effort that culminated in the introduction of the National Security Letter Reform Act.
>> Learn more & take action
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• National Security Agency Surveillance
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In response to Patriot Act-authorized surveillance powers that have been far wider and more clandestine than anticipated, PEN broadened its campaign to sound the alarm about the unconstitutional and chilling aspects of the secret National Security Agency surveillance program. As the FISA Amendments Act of 2008 were signed into law, PEN joined the ACLU in filing a lawsuit that challenges the Act, which extends the secret and warrantless NSA surveillance program.
>> Learn more & take action
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