Friday, May 04, 2007

WAPL 2007: Wiretapping the Internet

Wiretapping the Internet: Coming Soon to Your Library's Internet Provider
a presentation by Bob Bocher, Public Library Technology Consultant, Wisconsin Division for Libraries, Technology, and Community Learning

Topics that Bob covered:
  • Wisconsin privacy statutes
  • Historical background on wiretaps
  • Federal DOJ activity
  • NSA activity
  • PATRIOT ACT and National Security Letters
  • Net Neutrality
Any Wisconsin library that's supported by public funds is covered by the Wisconsin Library Privacy Law 43.30. Exemptions to statutory protections:
  • consent of individual library user
  • court order
  • National Security Letters (NSL)
  • administration of library services
  • Internet browser cache & history
  • patron behavior
Staff at every level need to know what to do if someone approaches them asking for patron information.

Bob will soon be posting his PowerPoint slides, and I'll link to them from here when they appear.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Information gained through any type of wiretapping intended to catch terrorists should legally be allowed to be used ONLY to arrest terrorists and thwart terror plots. The confidentiality of anything else overheard should be way beyond the class of attorney-client privledge, and into the realm of what a priest hears in a confessional. That way the government gets to do its job of protecting us, and we don't need to be concerned because we're protected by law.
Anonymous in Golden Colorado