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Gag lifted - Brewster speaks


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The FBI has withdrawn an unconstitutional national security letter issued to the Internet Archive after a legal challenge from the ACLU and the Electronic Frontier Foundation. As the result of a settlement agreement, the FBI withdrew the NSL, agreed to the unsealing of the case, and lifted a gag order — finally allowing the Archive’s founder, Brewster Kahle, to speak out for the first time about his battle against the record demand. Check out this video for Kahle's story in his own words.


Our website features the documents that were previously sealed in the case. The Internet Archive case is our third challenge to national security letters. We won the last round in our Internet Service Provider case: In September 2007, Judge Victor Marrero struck down the national security letter provision of the Patriot Act, calling the NSL gag power unconstitutional under the First and Fourth Amendments. The government appealed that decision: The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals will hear arguments in that case, Doe v. Mukasey, in June. You can learn more about all of our national security letter cases at www.aclu.org/nsl.

Posted by Rachel Myers, ACLU in Free Speech, Government Spying at 10:27 AM

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from TouchArt.net and OneEarthBlog.blogspot.com
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5 responses // Gag lifted - Brewster speaks

  • Hats off to Mr. Kahle and the Internet Archive for pushing back.
    Hawkmang
  • Word. America needs more courageous people like Kahle, the Internet Archive, and Judge Victor Marrero.

    When people of conscience speak out against injustice, they are often attacked, sometimes silenced and some are blacklisted and blackballed from their professions. But they speak anyway, because they value truth and the principles of the Constitution. When they do speak out, despite the dangers and costs, they make a space for others to also speak out and have their voice heard.

    Tyranny can not prevail, when brave men and women speak truth to power.

    TouchArt
  • this is a great post TouchArt! It's interesting to me because I was watching something about archiving and searches and relevant data that Google keeps for periods of time on users; and the report had seemed to raise some good questions about ongoing privacy issues in the future and the like.

    Did a google and found one letter that was interesting from Sen. Patrick Leahy asking AG Gonzalez about "...how the Department is addressing the privacy and civil liberties concerns raised by the collection, storage and use of such data." (Senator Patrick Leahy of Vermont corresponding to U.S. Attorney General, Alberto Gonzales, regarding the subpoenas for search records from Google, Yahoo, MSN, and AOL in a 2006 letter)

    I'm afraid those are excellent questions even for the most well-intentioned parties for the foreseeable future. We may well need more than mere assurances of good-will to secure privacy. One things certain, a government not for the people is certain to push for challenges; thinking we are already on our heels.

    Yes push back!!! PUSH BACK!!!! =D

    Thanks again TouchArt!
    echoz
  • Truth is power and I agree, when those uf us who are concerned stand up for truth at the risk of jeopordizing our freedom to practice our right to free speech...then we serve to strengthen our collective power in numbers...our democracy...

    Brewster Kahle's and the Internet Archive's experience and their response to the FBI's overbearing attitude is a perfect example of how to address this administration's propensity to trample the U.S. Constitution in an effort to control the flow of information. It is very difficult to deliver and promote misinformation, propaganda, when the truth keeps getting in the way.

    ...very honorable of Judge Victor Marrero...

    We must have more widespread truth via the internet and satellite TV in order to slow down and even stop this runaway train of the practice by those who cleverly devise their own interpretation of the Constitution, decree their own brand of justice, and invoke executive privaledge, believing that they, of course, are above the law...how has it come to this... from the the incredibly honest and just beginning initiated by Our Founding Fathers..? They formed the three branches of government so this sort of thing could not happen...

    Worse still is the message that this practice sends to the rest of the world. It does not set a good example and, rather, sets a precedence for those brutal demagouges who carry such infractions to even further extremes...look at what is going on in the big global picture...

    We The People, by speaking out, by practicing and defending our rights and the rights of all individuals, will eventually conquer this tyranny...and bring this runaway train to a screeching halt...

    More righteousness = Global D

    PlatoTacius
  • If it weren't for organizations and brave people like these, our government would look more like the military fascist dictatorship of china or the junta in burma than it already does..

    Great work by great people-

    THANK YOU.
    onechance

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