.
Quite an amazing person behind this article about gag orders: Michael Kieschnick.
National Security Letter Gag Orders Struck Down As Unconstitutional
NEW YORK (Huff Post) March 16, 2013 — Concluding that they suffer from “significant constitutional infirmities,” a federal district court judge in San Francisco struck down sections of federal law that allow the FBI to warrantlessly obtain private information under a gag order in the name of national security.
But U.S. District Judge Susan Illston temporarily put her order on hold to allow the government to appeal her decision, recognizing that a higher court should first be able to “consider the weighty questions of national security and First Amendment rights” at issue in the case. The authority of national security letters, government orders to communications providers to reveal user information, was vastly expanded in the post-9/11 Patriot Act. The federal government has made wide use of them in the name of the fight against terrorism.
In May 2011, the non-profit Electronic Frontier Foundation brought a lawsuit against the national security letter statutes on behalf of an unnamed telephone service provider, arguing that placing the company under a gag order violated its First Amendment rights. EFF also argued that the 2005 renewal of the Patriot Act provided too little judicial review for the secret letters. Illston’s ruling vindicated EFF’s arguments.
The progressive phone company Credo sent out a statement about the ruling.
“This ruling is the most significant court victory for our constitutional rights since the dark day when George W. Bush signed the Patriot Act,” said Michael Kieschnick, CEO of Credo Mobile. “This decision is notable for its clarity and depth. From this day forward, the U.S. government’s unconstitutional practice of using national security letters to obtain private information without court oversight and its denial of the First Amendment rights of national security letter recipients have finally been stopped by our courts. Credo applauds the work of EFF, a longtime champion in the fight to protect civil liberties, and the work of U.S. District Court Judge Susan Illston.”
SVN Courageous Conversation with Michael Kieschnick of CREDO Mobile
Federal Judge Finds National Security Letters Unconstitutional, Bans Them
A twin diary posted – British MOD Issued DA-notice on Snowden.
