The Justice Department’s repeated assertion that the USA PATRIOT Act’s surveillance provisions cannot be used against U.S. citizens. In fact, the surveillance provisions are applicable to citizens and non-citizens alike. Some of the surveillance provisions can be used even against citizens who are not suspected of espionage, terrorism, or crime of any kind.

The Justice Department’s repeated assertion that Section 215 of the Patriot Act, which permits the government to demand that any organization – including a library, bookstore, or hospital – turn its records over to the FBI, cannot be invoked unless the government can show “probable cause.” In fact, the law contains no such restriction. Section 215 requires only that the government declare that the records are “sought for” an ongoing investigation. The “sought for” standard is an extremely lenient one, and it bears no resemblance to “probable cause.” That the standard is so low is especially troubling in light of the Attorney General’s recent acknowledgement (at a June 2003 Congressional hearing) that the FBI could use Section 215 to obtain not only library and bookstore records but also computer files, educational records, and even genetic information.

The entire report is available here.

Thanks to David DiSabatino, Executive Director of the ACLU of Pennsylvania for the link. David adds:

Justice says that investigation under Sec. 215 cannot be predicated
"solely" on First Amendment activities, but the ACLU report says that so
long as the target of the investigation is not a U.S. person, then that
limit apparently does not apply to information collected on U.S. persons in
connection with that investigation.