In November 2007, Internet Archive founder Brewster Kahle received an unwelcome letter with a return address for the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
It was a national security letter (NSL) -- a secret government demand for documents permitted by the Patriot Act -- and it demanded that the archive turn over personal information on one user. The FBI asked for the person's name, address and all electronic transactional records.
Kahle, a board member of the Electronic Frontier Foundation, discussed the matter with EFF lawyers and decided to fight. Instead of providing the requested information, the archive submitted only publicly available documents -- and filed a lawsuit challenging the letter.
Wednesday, the FBI and the archive settled the case. The FBI has withdrawn the NSL and lifted a gag order that prevented Kahle or his lawyers at EFF and the American Civil Liberties Union from speaking about the matter.
Standing Up for Rights
"The free flow of information is at the heart of every library's work. That's why Congress passed a law limiting the FBI's power to issue NSLs to America's libraries," Kahle said. "While it's never easy standing up to the government -- particularly when I was barred from discussing it with anyone -- I knew I had to challenge something that was clearly wrong. I'm grateful that I am able now to talk about what happened to me, so that other libraries can learn how they can fight back from these overreaching demands."
Since the passage of the Patriot Act, which sharply reduced limitations on the FBI's use of NSLs, the use of the letters has skyrocketed. The FBI issued close to 200,000 letters between 2003 and 2006, the EFF said. The cyberlaw organization said it has uncovered "multiple" misuses of NSL, including one to North Carolina State University.
"This is a great victory for...

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