Anti-Terrorism Law and Higher Education

StudMuffin writes: "The American Council on Education website has a succinct summary of the new anti-terrorism legislation. The issues raised are those most likely to cause problems on our campuses around the United States. Specifically, the facts that schools must now turn over student records to investigators without informing the students, allows (get this!) monitoring of persons here on student visas, turnover of electronic communications and records, obtain IP addresses and routing and addressing data, records of URL's accessed, and most unfortunately ... install Carnivore at will to track internet use on campus. There are also specific regulations about university researchers and their ability to use biological agents in quantities not 'reasonably justified.' What about all of this doesn't suck? We give up a little freedom now, and later it's impossible to get it back." PDF only -- I wish they would put up a text version as well.

Inline txt of the PDF. SCARY STUFF

[lostindenver]

M E M O R A N D U M
October 25, 2001
To: Sheldon Steinbach
Terry Hartle
From: Martin Michaelson
Catherine Guttman-McCabe
Alexander E. Dreier
Re: Anti-terrorism legislation
In its first of several expected major regulatory
responses to terrorism, Congress today enacted and the President
will sign imminently the Uniting and Strengthening America by
Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct
Terrorism ("USA PATRIOT") Act of 2001 ("Act"). The Act takes
effect immediately when signed by the President. Provisions
likely to have a significant impact on colleges and universities
are summarized below, organized by the institutional office or
function primarily affected. If particular issues of
interpretation arise, institutions should consult their legal
counsel.
REGISTRAR; FOREIGN STUDENT OFFICE
_ Privacy of student records. Amends the Family Educational
Rights and Privacy Act ("FERPA") to permit educational
institutions to disclose education records to federal law
enforcement officials without student consent in some
circumstances:
_ By certifying that "specific and articulable facts" support
the request, a U.S. Assistant Attorney General or a higher-ranking
official may obtain a court order that requires an
educational institution to turn over education records
considered relevant to a terrorism investigation.
_ Institutions do not violate FERPA by responding to such an
order without student consent..HOGAN &HARTSON L.L..
Memorandum to Sheldon Steinbach and Terry Hartle
October 25, 2001
Page 2
_ The institution need not make a record of the disclosure,
as FERPA ordinarily requires. (The U.S. Attorney General,
after consulting the Secretary of Education, is to issue
guidelines -- directed at law enforcement agencies, not
educational institutions -- on retention, dissemination,
and use of the disclosed records.)
_ A college or university "shall not be liable to any person"
for good faith disclosure of education records in response
to such an order.
_ Does not explicitly amend FERPA's "health or safety
emergency" exception. The precise interplay of that
exception and the Act's provisions is subject to
interpretation.
_ Access to NCES survey information. Permits federal law
enforcement officials to collect student information from the
National Center for Education Statistics.
_ Monitoring of foreign students. Calls for full
implementation, and expansion to all foreign students (other
than those who hold immigrant visas), of existing law -- not
enforced to date by the federal government to the extent of
its authority -- that permits federal agencies to collect
from colleges and universities information (name and address;
visa classification and issuance or extension date; full-time
enrollment status; and disciplinary action resulting from
criminal conviction) about such students. Existing law
exempts from FERPA such disclosures. New INS information
requests to colleges and universities are likely.
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY OFFICIALS
As providers of communication services, including telephones,
computers, and Internet access, colleges and universities will be
affected by Title II of the Act, Enhanced Surveillance Procedures.
Many Title II provisions will "sunset," i.e., cease to have effect
unless renewed by Congress, on December 31, 2005..HOGAN &HARTSON L.L..
Memorandum to Sheldon Steinbach and Terry Hartle
October 25, 2001
Page 3
_ Voluntary disclosure of electronic communications or records.
Amends the criminal code pertinent to voluntary disclosure of
information by providers of electronic communication service.
_ A provider may disclose to law enforcement officials
contents of an electronic communication, if the provider
reasonably believes that an emergency involving immediate
danger of death or serious physical injury requires
disclosure without delay.
_ A provider may disclose information about a "customer" or
"subscriber" (which for a college or university may include
faculty, staff, students, and possibly others) in some
circumstances, including to a government entity, if the
provider reasonably believes that an emergency involving
immediate danger of death or serious injury justifies
disclosure.
_ Required disclosure of electronic communications or records.
Expands the scope of technology-related information law
enforcement officials may obtain through warrants, subpoenas,
and court orders:
_ Permits government officials to seek stored voice-mail
messages without wiretap authorization.
_ Adds categories of customer information that electronic
communication service providers must disclose in response
to an administrative subpoena, including subscribers' local
and long distance telephone connection records; records of
session times and durations; length of service and types of
service; telephone or instrument number or other subscriber
number or identity, including any temporarily assigned
network address; and means and source of payment (including
credit card or bank account number).
_ Electronic surveillance. Expands the government's ability to
obtain, and the scope and reach of, court orders for some
electronic surveillance devices. For example:.HOGAN &HARTSON L.L..
Memorandum to Sheldon Steinbach and Terry Hartle
October 25, 2001
Page 4
_ Internet addresses. To cover the Internet, expands
existing law enforcement surveillance authority. A so-called
"pen register" or "trap and trace" device may
lawfully be used to obtain dialing, routing, addressing or
signaling information transmitted by wire or electronic
communication, if such information does not include
communication content. Unclear is whether law enforcement
agencies will now be permitted to use such devices to
obtain a record of URLs a user has visited. Although the
statute authorizes collection of "addressing" information,
a record of URLs might be considered "content."
_ Internet surveillance. Authorizes the government to
install certain devices, such as "Carnivore," to track
Internet use. "Carnivore" was the controversial program
sponsored by the FBI that enabled government criminal
investigators to intercept and collect information on the
Internet. The Act as passed, unlike earlier versions,
imposes on service providers no new obligation to furnish
facilities or technical assistance to aid law enforcement
in this regard, and authorizes compensation for reasonable
expenditures incurred in providing such aid.
_ "Computer trespassers". In some circumstances authorizes
providers to permit law enforcement officials and persons
acting for them to intercept without a warrant communications
of "computer trespassers" (persons who access protected
computers without authorization). A person who has an
"existing contractual relationship with the owner or operator
of the computer for access to all or part of the protected
computer" is not a "computer trespasser."
_ Computer hacking. Increases penalties for certain computer
hacking crimes, including accessing and transmitting
destructive programs, such as viruses, to computers. If loss
exceeds $5000 -- for example, if the hacker damaged
university equipment -- the hacker may be sued..HOGAN &HARTSON L.L..
Memorandum to Sheldon Steinbach and Terry Hartle
October 25, 2001
Page 5
CAMPUS OFFICIALS WHO PROCESS SUBPOENAS AND WARRANTS
As noted above:
_ Court order for education records. Amends FERPA to permit
disclosure without student consent, pursuant to a court
order, of education records law enforcement officials
consider relevant to a terrorism investigation.
_ Required disclosure of communications or records. Expands
the scope of technology-related information law enforcement
officials may obtain pursuant to warrants, subpoenas, and
court orders.
_ Electronic surveillance. Amends the criminal code regarding
law enforcement agency use of certain electronic surveillance
devices.
Also:
_ Wiretapping. Expands law enforcement agency authority to
intercept wire, oral, and electronic communications that
relate to terrorism and computer fraud and abuse.
_ Business records. Amends the Foreign Intelligence
Surveillance Act of 1978 ("FISA") to permit the FBI to seize,
with a court order, certain business records pursuant to a
terrorism or intelligence investigation. Prohibits any
person from disclosing (other than to persons necessary to
produce the records) that the FBI sought or obtained records
under FISA.
_ Search warrants. Permits courts in some circumstances to
issue a nationwide search warrant.
RESEARCH ADMINISTRATORS; ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH AND SAFETY OFFICE
_ Biological agents and toxins. Punishes by fine and/or up to
10 years' imprisonment knowing possession of a biological
agent, toxin or delivery system of a type or in a quantity
not "reasonably justified" by a research or other "peaceful
purpose.".HOGAN &HARTSON L.L..
Memorandum to Sheldon Steinbach and Terry Hartle
October 25, 2001
Page 6
_ "Select agents". Makes it a crime for nationals of countries
determined to support terrorism, persons indicted for or
convicted of serious crimes, and certain others to possess or
transport a "select agent" (including, for example, anthrax
and other agents identified in Department of Health and Human
Services regulations).
_ Other legislative proposals, notably concerning bio-terrorism,
are currently pending in Congress.

Re:Inline txt of the PDF. SCARY STUFF

[thrig]

In other words, "All Your Bill of Rights are Belong to Us."

Not really... I think the "war on drugs" still leads the "war on terrorism" for damages done, though that may just be due to the longer span of time the former has been failing.

Now I have to rewrite my department's security policy to allow the likes of Carnivore (unencrypted unaudited black box? No, thanks) to infest my network...

Not a bad idea

[Red Moose]

OK you might be getting pissed at all the Anti-Terrorist crap going around; I was watching a recent documentary about schooling in Pakistan and the outlook/opinions of the students on the Afghan war, and they were as usual doing the "America is the real global terrorist" thing as the interviewers were asking questions as they were taking exams, etc., .

He also asked them what exam were they taking and it turned out that around 80% of the particular school were all applying for US high-schools and colleges; when they mentioned this, the students were like "Oh yes we know we hate America", etc., "but all the good schools are there"....

The fact that student visas are openly available for just about anything, and that every dickless dot-com was throwing out H1Bs like there was no tomorrow (ironic that), I can't say it's a bad move. Green cards and citizenship take much longer - longer than freak terrorists have. $1000 gets you 2 week H1B processing, or whatever fast track visa processed that you want.

So really it's not a bad move; what may be the real problem is if they start to censor actual students, etc., and restrict free speech, etc., and confuse free opinion with subversive activity. That's called "China".

Not a good idea either

[PD]

When a student from poor country comes here and gets education to the PhD level, they spend all the unbound energy of their youth in OUR country, contributing to OUR economy, donating their intellectual discoveries to OUR body of knowlege, and participating in and enriching OUR culture.

And you want to refuse these little treasures admittance to the US? I'm not joking about this. Would you rather a young scientist make his mark on the world in contributions to Iran, or to make his mark on the world when he was studying here in the US?

The benefits we accrue from allowing foreign students into our country far outweigh any negatives.

Re:Not a good idea either

[Red Moose]

No, but it's better that he doesn't do all that and then go home and work on building chemical/biological weapons, etc., . Hence why you need US citizenship to work in CDC, and so on.

I am not saying to stop anybody - that would be insance - but it is very easy for a "subversive" to get a visa.

For example, a $500,000 investment in the US gets you a green card. Yes, straight up, half a million (at least). I am not talking about stopping students, I am saying that they are easily influenced by outside opinions (e.g., Taliban propaganda or whatever - of course the fact that it is illegal under Taliban for women to be educated is a point the girls missed when saying to leave them alone)....but rich fuckers like Bin Laden could easily have bought enough visas for whatever reason for whoever he wanted.

To What End?

[hairy mary]

As a dyed in the wool advocate for freedom of speech, I would fight for the right (ok not actually fight, but I'd contribute) to keep it. I am a citizen, however, and I'm not sure we afford the same protections to non-citizens. An illustration of how the U.S. Government overlooks peoples rights is the U.S. Customs Service, whose agents are entitled to strip your ass if they think you're bringing something BAD into the country. I've asked about this, and apparently, your rights aren't n effect until the USCS says you're good to go. It's sort of a suspension of certain civil rights before you're legally on U.S. soil. What does the Constitution protect, anyway? It allows for freedom of expression, and the right to speak out against a tyrannical government. We can all still do that, but if someone says (or writes) that they're intending to do something criminal, then why not check it out? Some feel that civil rights protect any speech, but even that's not true. (Fire in a movie house) I think it's just too big a job to monitor all the international students, just look at the intelligence blunder that Sept 11 is pointing out. It's just a reaction designed to make it look like we're doing something (anything) to see that something like this doesn't happen again.

Re:To What End?

[Wesley Everest]

We can all still do that, but if someone says (or writes) that they're intending to do something criminal, then why not check it out?

Except the new "anti-terrorism" laws don't apply in such a case. If police already have probable cause that a crime is going to be committed, they easily get search warrants, wiretaps, etc. The new law says that they can spy on and disrupt groups even if there is no probable cause. Do you really have free speech and democratic rights if a peaceful/legal organization can be secretly spied on and disrupted? Imagine an immigrant rights group that is seeking to influence policy to limit powers of INS agents. Now imagine the INS spying on the group and being allowed to arrest and hold members of the group for 7 days without charging them with a crime. Do you think this might discourage people from joining the group? Might it damage their effectiveness? Can you have a free and democratic society when agents of the government use their power to fight against any attempts to limit their power?

Think about the fact that terrorism is being defined as using violence to create an atmosphere of fear in order to change government policies, but it is not considered terrorism to do the same thing in order to preserve government policies.