Everything you ever wanted to know
about
National Security Letters…
But were afraid to ask.
NATIONAL SECURITY LETTERS
A Historical Background
What is a National Security
Letter?
From FBI website:
“A letter request for information from a third party that
is issued by the FBI or by other government agencies
with authority to conduct national security
investigations.”
And…
 There is a nondisclosure, or “gag” order
attached
 An NSL requires no judicial oversight
The Birth of National Security
Letters
1986 Amendment to the Right to Financial Privacy
Act (RFPA)
Allows the FBI to obtain financial records and
personal information without advance notice as
a part of terrorism or espionage investigations
Increased Legal Authority for
NSLs
Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA)
Telephone, e-mail, billing records, and subscriber
information
Amendment to the Fair Credit Reporting Act
(FCRA)
Consumer Credit History Information
USA Patriot Act
•Passed October 2001
•Meant to expand resources in identifying threats
to national security
•Entities considered “relevant” can be investigated
•Approval authority of NSLs decentralized
Constitutionality of NSLs
Challenged in Court
 Doe v. Ashcroft
 Doe v. Gonzales
• Violates 1st and 4th
Amendment Rights
In the meantime…



Patriot Act up for renewal
USA Patriot Act Improvement and
Reauthorization Act of 2005
Clarifies:
1.
2.
3.
NSL recipient may disclose receipt when seeking
legal counsel
Non-disclosure order does not automatically attach
to NSL
Judicial review of non-disclosure requirement
accompanying NSL
Does go to a Higher Court
May 2006
• The U.S. 2nd Court of Appeals
hears Doe v. Ashcroft and Doe v.
Gonzales
• Returned to lower courts due to
revisions made to the Patriot Act
earlier in the year
 Judge Cardamone writes concurring opinion:
“a ban on speech does not fit comfortably with the
fundamental rights guaranteed American
citizens.”
The Department of Justice Gets
Involved
• As a part of the Patriot Act Reauthorization the
Office of the Inspector General is required to
investigate the use of NSLs
• March 2007 report states that
the FBI violated regulations in use
of National Security Letter
authority
ALA on NSLs
 NSLs violate 1st Amendment Rights
• ALA is against
government suppression
of the right to intellectual
freedom
• Urges Congress to enact
greater oversight of NSL
usage and eliminate “gag”
order provision
Library Action!
 Educate community
 Destroy internet access logs daily
 Post privacy-loss warning signs
What will you do to
protect your freedom?
OVERVIEW OF AVAILABLE MATERIAL
ON NATIONAL SECURITY LETTERS
National Security Letters in Foreign
Intelligence Investigations:
Comparison of National Security Attributes
 Addressees and Certifying Officials
 Purpose, Standards, and Information Covered
 Confidentiality
 Judicial Review
 Dissemination
 Liability, Fees, and Oversight
Department of Justice Inspector
General’s Report
 Review NSL issuance 2003-2004, and 2005-
2006
 100 FBI employees from headquarters and 50
FBI employees from national field offices
interviewed
 Examined FBI’s NSL tracking database
Department of Justice Inspector
General’s Report
 NSLs reported by FBI (by
year):
 2000: 8,500 NSLs
 2003: 39,000 NSLs
 2004: 56,000 NSLs
 2005: 47,000 NSLs
The Inspector General found
these numbers to be
flawed:
 Inaccurate information in
database
 Information not entered
consistently into database
 Some information from
the database was missing
Department of Justice Inspector
General’s Report
Violations:
 Improper authorization of
NSLs
 Improper requests of
information
 Unauthorized collections
of information
Errors were made because:
 FBI gathered incorrect
information
 Gathered some
information without a NSL
 Mistakes in letters, causing
confusion
Department of Justice Inspector
General’s Report
Recommendations
 Create control files for signed copies of letters
 Improve NSL database
 Better guidance over issuance of NSLs from FBI
field offices
 Tagging of information from NSL requests-learn
how and when the information is used in criminal
proceedings
FBI’s Response to Inspector
General’s Report
 NSLs valuable after 9/11 as an investigative
tool
 Director Robert S. Mueller has ordered
corrective measures to be taken
 Stronger internal controls
 Improve oversight of NSL approvals
 Expedited inspection
“Library Group Tells of A Gag Order by
the FBI”
 Library Connection-central computer system
in Hartford, Connecticut
 American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) v.
Gonzales
 Originally filed as Doe v. Gonzales
 Peter Chase (Library Connection Vice President of
Board of Directors): “John Doe”
 Other Library Connection members: George M.
Christian, Barbara Bailey, Janet Nocek
ALA’s Resolution on the Use and
Abuse of National Security
Letters
 ALA’s stance
 Resolutions
 Want to protect
 Condemns use of
privacy rights of
patrons and
employees
 Believe free thought
should be protected
NSLs for obtaining
library records
 Wants Congress to
propose protective
reforms
National Security Letters
Reform Act of 2007
 Introduced to the House of Representatives
by Rep. Jerrold Nadler (NY) on July 26, 2007
 Proposes several procedural protections for
NSLs
 The act was referred to the Subcommittee
on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil
Liberties on September 10, 2007
A FEW SCARY THINGS ABOUT
NATIONAL SECURITY LETTERS…
Your privacy is at risk.
 You don’t have to be connected to a terrorist
investigation to have an FBI file.
 Your records can be retained indefinitely.
 Your information can be shared within the
government and with private businesses.
There are no checks and
balances.
If you’re issued one, you can’t
talk about it.
 Recipients cannot disclose the fact that they
have received an NSL or discuss it with
anyone other than a lawyer.
 Library Connection members were not even
allowed to attend their own court case
anonymously because of the gag order.
They’re easy to misuse.
 Justice Department audit found numerous
misuses of NSLs.
 FBI internal audit found more than 1,000
instances of misuse.
 Businesses are not allowed to challenge NSLs
for at least 1 year.
 The FBI has been compensating phone
companies for access to records.
And the data is easy to
misinterpret.
How are libraries affected?
 Library Connection
court case
 ALA’s Resolution on
the Use and Abuse of
National Security
Letters
But don’t worry, it’s not all
bad news.
 In September 2007, a
federal judge ruled that
NSLs were
unconstitutional.
 National Security
Letters Reform Act of
2007 has been
proposed.
“They that can give up
essential liberty to obtain a
little temporary safety deserve
neither liberty nor safety.”
-Benjamin Franklin