Inspector General Glenn Fine announced his investigation this week in a letter to Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee. In March, Leahy asked Attorney General Eric Holder to conduct a review of the way the Department is using Section 215 and the NSL provisions even though the legislation requiring it did not become law.

“The Inspector General’s announcement that he intends to assess the FBI’s progress in responding to recommendations in prior reports and to take a close look at the use of Section 215 orders and NSLs between 2007 and 2009 is very good news, indeed,” said Tom Allen, President and CEO of the Association of American Publishers. “His findings will be extremely valuable in informing the debate over Patriot Act reauthorization when it resumes later this year.”

The Campaign for Reader Privacy was organized in 2004 by the American Booksellers Association, the American Library Association, the Association of American Publishers, and PEN American Center. Its goal is to ensure that Americans can purchase and borrow books without fear that the government is reading over their shoulder.