ABFFE Joins Protest over NSA Surveillance

Shelf Awareness

The American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression has joined the ACLU, the American Library Association and more than 80 civil liberties, government reform and digital advocacy groups--as well as several companies--in protesting the National Security Administration's recently revealed surveillance of the telephone records and Internet activity of American citizens, an issue that has been making international headlines recently.

A letter sent to members of Congress criticized a program of "blanket surveillance" by NSA that includes the collection of the telephone records of all customers of Verizon under Section 215 of the USA Patriot Act. The coalition letter renews the call for reform of Section 215 and urges Congress to investigate and report the extent of the government's domestic spying and to hold accountable public officials who are responsible for unconstitutional surveillance.

"Booksellers, librarians and other members of the publishing community have been trying to amend Section 215 for years because it threatens the privacy of bookstore and library records," said ABFFE president Chris Finan. "The fact that NSA is collecting the phone records of every Verizon customer in the United States demonstrates that the threat to our privacy is very real. How can we speak and associate freely if we fear the government is watching us?"