The letter (awaiting signatures) is attached below. See also: "Privacy is another victim of the war on (some) drugs" http://www.politechbot.com/p-01561.html -Declan *********** From: Brad Jansen <bjansenat_private> To: "'declanat_private'" <declanat_private> Cc: politechat_private Subject: Press conference Monday, Sept 10th at 11 am Date: Thu, 6 Sep 2001 17:09:02 -0400 MIME-Version: 1.0 Hi Declan, your Politechnicals might be interested: Coalition for Constitutional Liberties a project of the Free Congress Foundation's Center for Technology Policy Contact: Steve Lilienthal (202) 204-5304 Coalition of Conservative and Other Privacy Advocacy Groups Is Seeking to Have the Senate Judiciary Committee Raise Questions About the War on Drugs' Impact On Privacy and Other Civil Liberties at the Hearing to Consider John Walters' Confirmation as the New Drug Czar What: Press conference on the War on Drugs and its impact on privacy and other civil liberties When: Monday, September 10th at 11 AM Where: J.W. Marriott Hotel Salons J&K Ballroom level 1331 Pennsylvania Ave., NW Washington, D.C. Speakers include: J. Bradley Jansen Free Congress Foundation Tom DeWeese American Policy Center Eric E. Sterling The Criminal Justice Policy Foundation On September 10th, the Coalition for Constitutional Liberties will release a letter signed by groups representing conservatives and other privacy advocates requesting that members of the Senate Judiciary Committee raise questions regarding the current strategies and tactics being employed in the War on Drugs and its impact on privacy. The letter is being released the day before we expect the Senate Judiciary Committee will meet to consider the confirmation of John Walters as the nation's next "drug czar." The letter makes clear that it is not intended to support nor oppose Walters' nomination. Rather, the coalition wants to ensure that he and the members of the Judiciary Committee are fully acquainted with the threat posed to civil liberties by the current approach to the War on Drugs. Specifically, it is seeking assurances that the next director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy will implement the needed reforms to prevent the War on Drugs from escalating into a full-fledged assault on our privacy and other civil liberties. Privacy intrusive efforts by the Federal government in the name of combating drugs include taking peaks at private e-mails, profiling "suspicious" citizens, and even seizing private assets. Even tough on drugs conservatives such as U.S. Rep. Bob Barr (R-GA) have expressed reservations about the possible infringement of the civil liberties and privacy of American citizens. The coming of new leadership at ONDCP presents the opportunity to make sure our right to privacy is once again respected by the Federal government. Groups supporting this effort include the Free Congress Foundation, Americans for Tax Reform, Eagle Forum, American Policy Center, and the National Center for Public Policy Research. *********** > Coalition for Constitutional Liberties > A project of the Free Congress Foundation's Center for Technology Policy > > 717 Second Street NE * Washington, DC 20002 * (202) 546-3000 * Fax (202) > 543-5605 > > September 10, 2001 > > The Honorable Patrick J. Leahy, Chairman > Senate Judiciary Committee > United States Senate > 433 Russell Office Building > Washington, DC 20510 > > Re: Nomination of John Walters > > Dear Chairman Leahy, Senator Hatch and > Members of the Senate Judiciary Committee: > > We are part of a broad coalition of groups concerned that the war on drugs > has degraded our privacy and civil liberties. We respectfully ask that > the members of Committee consider raising the following privacy and civil > liberties issues in connection with the nomination of John Walters to be > the Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy (Office of the > White House). We intend by issuing this letter to signal neither support > nor opposition to Mr. Walters' nomination. Rather, we are issuing this > letter to urge members of the Committee to explore these issues in > connection with Mr. Walters' nomination. As we set forth below, these > issues include the use of new surveillance and investigative technologies, > including the Carnivore/DCS1000 and Echelon systems, the "Know Your > Customer" proposal of the Financial Action Task Force, asset forfeiture > abuses, wiretaps and the drug war's sometimes corrupting influence on law > enforcement itself. > > Rapid advances in technology have unfortunately brought with them new > opportunities for the invasion of privacy in the form of programs like > Carnivore, a system designed to allow the FBI to sift through vast > quantities of internet communications, or "Know Your Customer," -a > proposed regulation requiring banks to collect personal financial > information about their customers, "profile" them, and report "suspicious > activities" to the Government. The misguided drug war is often a driving > force behind these initiatives. "Know Your Customer" was prompted largely > to further the drug war by combating drug-related money laundering. The > FBI claims that Carnivore helps in narcotic investigations. > > We are concerned that "profiling," including racial profiling, appears to > be an accepted component of the federal government's war on drugs. As > noted by Georgetown University Law Professor David Cole, characteristics > of "drug courier profiles" used by U.S. Customs at airports have included: > > * Arrived late at night > * Arrived early in the morning > * Arrived in afternoon > * One of first to deplane > * One of last to deplane > * Deplaned in the middle > * Bought coach ticket > * Bought first class ticket > * Used one-way ticket > * Used round-trip ticket > * Traveled alone > * Traveled with a companion > * Wore expensive clothing > * Dressed casually > * Suspect was Hispanic > * Suspect was black female > In short, everyone anywhere at any time could fit the profile of a drug > courier according to U.S. Customs officials. Court records confirm that > highway patrol officers both in California and in New Jersey were taught > to profile automobile drivers using minority status as an excuse to stop > them, search their car, and in some cases, find drugs, a process known as > racial profiling. In fact, civil rights organizations have charged that > the DEA's own Operation Pipeline actually trains state and local law > enforcement agents to engage in racial profiling. > > The extent to which our drug policy drives government surveillance and > invasion of privacy is especially clear in the case of wiretaps. Three > quarters of all wiretaps are authorized for narcotics investigations. The > Administrative Office of the United States Courts reports that annually > approximately 80 percent of conversations intercepted on wiretaps are > innocent communications. > > In addition to government surveillance, there has been an increasing > effort to have private businesses monitor their customers in order to > fight the drug war. In the case of the "Know Your Customer" proposal now > being resurrected by the FATF, the government attempts to force customer > monitoring through regulation. More and more often, the DEA is using > financial incentives to induce businesses to report personal information > about their customers to the government. This undermines both consumer > privacy and businesses' relationships with their customers. In April, the > Albuquerque Journal reported that Amtrak was providing access to its > ticketing database to the Drug Enforcement Administration. Amtrak > provided agents with information such as passengers' last names, their > destinations, their method of payment, and whether they were going on a > round trip or only one-way. In return, Amtrak was given 10% of anything > the government seized. Although controversy led Amtrak to discontinue the > DEA's computer access, the company still provides information gleaned from > the ticketing system to law enforcement officers and continues to receive > a portion of assets seized on trains by agents. > > The Amtrak case demonstrates the degree to which forfeiture laws are > giving an incentive for law enforcement and private businesses to focus on > seizing property supposedly related to drug crimes. The system is still > very susceptible to abuse and one does not have to be convicted of a crime > before their property is taken. Before the passage of the Civil Asset > Forfeiture Act of 2000, which addressed some of the more egregious abuses, > eighty percent of people who had property forfeited were never charged > with a crime. While this number will likely become lower because of the > reforms, the abuse of forfeiture laws continues. > > As reports (some of which were initiated by members of this Committee) > have shown, the war on drugs has had a corrupting influence on the > professionalism of law enforcement; one March 1999 GAO report described > the problem as a "serious and continuing threat." > > We urge you to raise these issues with Mr. Walters and ask for assurances > that he will reform the conduct of the drug war in order to address these > problems and ensure that drug policies respect the privacy and other civil > liberties of all Americans. > > If you have any questions or would like to discuss these issues further, > please contact J. Bradley Jansen of the Free Congress Foundation at > 202-204-5324 or by email at bjansenat_private > > Respectfully, > > Paul M. Weyrich Lisa S. Dean > National Chairman Vice President for > Technology Policy > Coalitions for America Free > Congress Foundation *********** ------------------------------------------------------------------------- POLITECH -- Declan McCullagh's politics and technology mailing list You may redistribute this message freely if you include this notice. Declan McCullagh's photographs are at http://www.mccullagh.org/ To subscribe to Politech: http://www.politechbot.com/info/subscribe.html This message is archived at http://www.politechbot.com/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------
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