The American Library Association issued a press release yesterday announcing its opposition to the Justice Department’s move to bring broadband internet access within the scope of the Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act:
CALEA was passed in October 1994 to obligate telecommunications carriers to assist law enforcement in executing court-authorized electronic surveillance, such as wiretapping. In March, the DOJ, the FBI, and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency petitioned the FCC to expand the coverage and strengthen the enforcement of CALEA.
[ALA states] that if the petition is granted, “innovation will be threatened, privacy diminished, and unnecessary costs imposed� on libraries and campuses that provide broadband connectivity. The groups also maintain that the expansion of CALEA could hinder the efficiency and security of existing applications and could require libraries to collect and retain more personally identifiable information about patron use, which would then be subject to requests under the USA Patriot Act.
Once again, the ALA shows its colors!!
The ALA, like other professional organizations (NEA, AMA, etc.) has seemed to think it needs to be involved in the political area beyond its original purpose of supporting libraries and librarians. This is just another example.
For more, see How the ALA ignores peril to promote its own agenda and The measures some librarians have to go to in order to deal with such policies
Not again, more nonsense from the ALA
“CALEA was passed in October 1994 to obligate telecommunications carriers to assist law enforcement in executing court-authorized electronic surveillance…
So now that ALA is against the legal system on which our nation was founded.
If I did not enjoy Will Manley’s column, and if I didn’t think it was a requirement for career advancement I would not belong to the ALA. The Black Panthers are less offensive to me.
Re:Once again, the ALA shows its colors!!
How do you stand up for the Bill of Rights and the Constitution without being being political?
Re:Not again, more nonsense from the ALA
Thank you, mdoniel. We want you to know that we find you less offensive, too.
Leadership Committee, Black Panther Party.
POWER TO THE PEOPLE!