Date: Sun, 28 Jan 96 21:05:08 From: <alanh@infi.net> Subject: Re: Escrowing Viewing and Reading Habits with the Government To: "roy m. silvernail" <roy@sendai.cybrspc.mn.org> Cc: "timothy c. may" <tcmay@got.net>, cypherpunks@toad.com
The "Library Awareness Program," administered by the Justice Department, is designed to identify potential criminals before they have a chance to commit their deeds. The visits to libraries made by the FBI are used to determine who is reading subversive or dangerous material.
Do you really think the FBI believes that asking librarians to keep records of customer useage is an efficient way to read the customers minds? Do you really think that the FBI foreign counter-intelligence squad has nothing better to do than keep a database of who is reading Che Guevara memoirs?
Yes. Heck, I remember this was a big issue about 15 years ago. Try asking someone who was active in library science in the late 70's, early 80's. The general reaction of the library community was, I am glad to say, entirely pro-privacy. Peter Trei trei@process.com