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NATIONAL SECURITY LETTERS
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The Campaign for Reader Privacy has 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. |
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PRESS RELEASES
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September 14, 2006:
Program to celebrate First Amendment champions
Eight individuals who have taken risky, at times harrowing stands on behalf of the First Amendment in recent months will discuss their experiences at an upcoming program in Washington, DC. >> More
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April 11, 2007:
Campaign for Reader Privacy Welcomes Testimony by 'Gagged' Librarian
Following dramatic testimony from a Connecticut librarian who successfully challenged an abusive FBI National Security Letter (NSL), the Campaign called on Congress to restore the safeguards for reader privacy that were eliminated by the USA Patriot Act. >> More
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September 6, 2007:
District Court Strikes Down National Security Letter Provision
PEN American Center welcomed U.S. District Court Judge Victor Marrero’s decision striking down the amended Patriot Act's National Security Letter (NSL) provision. The ACLU challenged the law in Doe v. Gonzales, arguing that changes made by Congress in the USA Patriot Act did not bring the NSL provision into compliance with constitutional requirements.
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September 25, 2007: PEN Applauds Introduction of NSL Reform Act
The Campaign for Reader Privacy, a coalition of organizations representing librarians, booksellers, publishers, and authors, cheered the introduction today of legislation to safeguard the privacy of ordinary Americans and curb the FBI’s abuse of the National Security Letter power granted under the USA Patriot Act. >> More
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RESOURCES
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>> Campaign for Reader Privacy
>> PEN Members Speak Out
>> Resources Archive
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PRESS
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November 6, 2005 | New York Times | Lawmakers call for limits on F.B.I. power
"We should not ever give up freedom on the basis of fear, and any freedom that we give up should be limited in time and limited in scope," Senator Tom Coburn. >> More
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November 6, 2005 | Washington Post | The FBI's Secret Scrutiny
The FBI now issues more than 30,000 national security letters a year, according to government sources, a hundredfold increase over historic norms. >> More
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April 1, 2007 | Sara Paretsky | Refusing to allow pressure to silence a critical voice
 I'm not a fan of propaganda novels, novels written to show four legs are better than two, or that women deserve to be raped and beaten, or that men are testosterone-crazed thugs. But I don't know how to divorce myself and my fictions from the urgent concerns of my life: Who is allowed to speak? Who listens? Who is silenced? >> More
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EVENTS & MULTIMEDIA
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>> Events & Multimedia Archive
State of Emergency: Unconventional Readings
Literary luminaries present a series of readings on the topics of free speech and democracy, in concert with the PEN Campaign for Core Freedoms. >> Listen
Protecting Privacy, Challenging Secrecy & Standing Up for the First Amendment
The Campaign for Reader Privacy presents this program in celebration of the 25th observance of Banned Books Week, an annual reminder that we can never take our freedom to read for granted. >> Listen
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