Existing surveillance measures are sufficient, the American Civil Liberties Union contends. Here is an excerpt from their statement that relates to patron confidentiality:
Under current law, a law enforcement agent can get a pen register or trap and trace order requiring the telephone company to reveal the numbers dialed to and from a particular phone. It must simply certify that the information to be obtained is \”relevant to an ongoing criminal investigation.\” This is a very low level of proof, far less than probable cause. The judge must grant the order upon receiving the certification. The new bill would extend this low threshold of proof to Internet communications that are far more revealing than numbers dialed on a phone. For example, it would apparently apply to law enforcement efforts to determine what websites a person had visited. This is like giving law enforcement the power – based only on its own certification — to require the librarian to report on the books you had perused while visiting the public library. This is extending a low standard of proof — far less than probable cause — to \”content\” information (emphasis added.)
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