Online Privacy: An ALA Interpretation Of The Library

Some of the most contentious and recurrent argumentative dialogues regarding civil liberties stem from what seems at face value, like a relatively elementary idea the notion of personal privacy. This debate could never be more relevant than in present day society, where globalization and advanced communications technologies have synergized to form a ubiquitous digital library of shared information. The specific example of the delicate balance between personal privacy and national security here in the United States has only further convoluted the issue the debate of whether and to what caliber citizens have privacy rights is hotly contested. As technology

Also, the ALA doesn’t see how suppressing ideas makes America a democratic society, and fully supports educating library staff to preach about user privacy (ALA). The ALA also feels strongly when other privacy issues of the Act are brought forth. They argue that privacy is essential in the promotion of an individual’s seek of free speech, association, and thought without being scrutinized, therefore they are prepared to educate as many as possible about the surveillance of library users (ALA). “The USA PATRIOT Act and other recently enacted laws, regulations, and guidelines increase the likelihood that the activities of library users, including their use of computers to browse the Web or access e-mail, may be under government surveillance without their knowledge or consent, so the ALA suggests to “urge all libraries to adopt and implement patron privacy and record retention policies that affirm that "the collection of personally identifiable information should

"We Need Privacy Laws for the Digital Era | The Nation." The Nation, 8 Jan. 2014. Web. 21 Oct. 2016.

Privacy is what allows people to feel secure in their surroundings. With privacy, one is allowed to withhold or distribute the information they want by choice, but the ability to have that choice is being violated in today’s society. Benjamin Franklin once said, “He who sacrifices freedom or liberty will eventually have neither.” And that’s the unfortunate truth that is and has occurred in recent years. Privacy, especially in such a fast paced moving world, is extremely vital yet is extremely violated, as recently discovered the NSA has been spying on U.S. citizens for quite a while now; based on the Fourth Amendment, the risk of leaked and distorted individual information, as well as vulnerability to lack of anonymity.

Although not every aspect of The USA PATRIOT ACT is radical, section 215 in The USA PATRIOT Act is one of the more critically addressed problems of this already controversial piece of legislation. Probably because most sane individuals would not like the government walking into a library or book store and ask for a list of anyone who purchased a book that may or not be considered radical enough to be flagged as possible terrorist activity. Summarized best by Dahlia Lithwick, “Section 215 modifies the rules on records searches. Post-Patriot Act, third-party holders of your financial, library, travel, video rental, phone, medical, church, synagogue, and mosque records can be searched without your knowledge or consent, providing the government says it's trying to protect against terrorism.” (Lithwick part 1) This raises concern that the government may cry wolf (terrorism) to circumvent the Bill of Rights for any investigation it so desired. John Ashcroft, as quoted by an unnamed CNN writer, said "If we ever make an inquiry about any kind of record or business record, it has the judicial supervision, so that a federal judge would look carefully and simply not allow it if it were not a part of a case that merited the involvement of the authorities." (CNN 1) It would seem that the term privacy never evolved alongside technology, allowing even greater

As human beings and citizens of the world, everyone values their privacy. It is a right that is often looked over and taken for granted by most. Since the beginning of time, there have been concerns about individuals’ rights to privacy and their personal information remaining confidential. Our founding fathers had concerns about this which is why, “…this right has developed into

Many times in the past decade and a half since the Act was passed, there have been numerous reports of suppression of the rights protected by the First, Fourth, Fifth and Sixth amendments of the Bill of Rights, directly threatening the freedom of association, information, speech, and the right to legal representation as well as the right to liberty. This is simply unacceptable - what is the point of having a law of the land if we create and ratify legislation that destroys that supreme law? For instance, in clear violation of the Fourth amendment, the library surveillance introduced by the Patriot Act allowed monitoring of library’s public computer terminals and use of secret search warrants to seize any tangible thing in a library without probable cause and court procedure. It also imposed a gag order on booksellers and librarians to prevent them from disclosing details of surveillance.()CITE The extent of surveillance in libraries is just another reason Americans need to realize that their privacy rights have been snatched from them under the disguise of the Patriot Act. It is important to realize that the surveillance does not stop at the district or township libraries. It has reached our residential doorsteps without us realizing it. In this era of digital communication, most people rely on technology to stay connected with the rest of the world. The Patriot Act allows federal agents to monitor electronic communications, which includes wireless phones, email, and internet, without much oversight. It also allowed the government to seize business records of telecom companies as well as customer records from the Internet Service Providers.

During the past decade, an issue has arisen from the minds of people, on which is more important? Privacy or national security? The problem with the privacy is that people do not feel they have enough of it and national security is increasing causing the government to be less worried about the people. National security is growing out of control which has led to the decrease in people’s privacy and has created fear in the eyes of U.S. citizens. “Twelve years after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, and amid a summer of revelations about the extent of the surveillance state built up to prevent others, leaders, experts and average Americans alike are searching for the right balance between security and privacy” (Noble). Americans should be able to live their daily lives without fear of an overpowered government or a “big brother” figure taking over. “According to a CBS News poll released Tuesday evening, nearly 6 in 10 Americans said they disapproved of the federal government’s collecting phone records of ordinary Americans in order to reduce terrorism” (Gonchar). While it is good to keep our country safe with security, American’s privacy should be more important because there is a substantial amount of national security, the people 's rights should matter first.

America was founded of the ideals of free speech and equality, but if one tries to exercise these rights to the fullest extent, one’s privacy would be jeopardized. The purpose

(Sales, Nathan A). They also claim something similar to very hot topic related to search the reading habit of a library patron. They understand that The Patriot Act can be applied to libraries and bookstore but it is not very alarming and gave reference to one 1990 case where grand jury in New York ask for library records (Sales, Nathan A).

Martin Luther King Jr. once said, “Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about the things that matter.” Voicing unpopular ideas have always been apart of the lives of people. Since the beginning of time, people have been speaking their minds and using their voice to create change. Voicing your opinion can ignite a difference in the perspectives and views of society.

For libraries, Sections 215 and 505 of the PATRIOT Act are particularly pertinent. Section 215 allows FBI agents to present a library with an order issued ex parte (from one party) by a Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC) "requiring the production of any tangible things (including books, records, papers, documents, and other items) for an investigation to protect against international terrorism or clandestine intelligence activities."1 Under such an order, a library may be required to

Technology has come a long way since the early 90’s. With modern advances, technology is just about incorporated in everything we do in our day-to-day lives. Since technology has been incorporated into our everyday lives, it may raise some concerns about what may be happening in the background. One of these concerns would be privacy, we all may take it for granted but it is our constitutional rights as Americans. But this all changed after the September 2001 attack on the twin towers.

In today’s society, the word “privacy” has become ubiquitous. When discussing whether government surveillance and data collection pose a threat to privacy, the most common retort against privacy advocates – by those in favor of databases, video surveillance, spyware, data mining and other modern surveillance measures – is this line: "If I’m not doing anything wrong, what would I have to hide?" The allowance of the government’s gathering and analysis of our personal information stems from an inadequate definition of what privacy is and the eternal value that privacy possesses. The adherents of the “nothing-to-hide” argument say that because the information will never be disclosed to the public, the “privacy interest is minimal, and the security interest in preventing terrorism is much more important.” 1 In an era where the patterns we leave behind will inevitably become the focus for whatever authority, the issue of privacy affects more than just individuals hiding a wrong. In this essay, I will explore the state of online privacy in wake of the government’s warrantless data collection. Respectively, the nothing-to-hide argument and its key variants in more depth.

The words, “Arguing that you don’t care about privacy because you have nothing to hide is no different than saying you don’t care about free speech because you have nothing to say” were said by Edward Snowden who is a computer professional in America. Similarly, the essays “Tracking Is an Assault on Liberty,” “Web Users Get as Much as They Give,” and “Facebook Is Using You” from Nicholas Carr, Jim Harper, and Lori Andrews respectively points out that the internet privacy is good and bad. However, the articles by Carr and Andrews are based on the negative side of the internet privacy, which means that the internet privacy is not good. On the other hand, Harper’s article is based on the positive side of the internet privacy, which means that the internet privacy is good and scary, but people need to be careful of their own information and browsing histories, and websites. Jim Harper’s essay is more relevant and reasonable than the Nicholas Carr and Lori Andrews’s essays. However, Harper seems more persuasive to readers because he believes that the internet is good if people use it in a right way, whereas Carr and Andrews believe that the internet is not good at all.