Publishers and booksellers alike are optimistic that the new Obama administration will support causes that the industry has long backed. In fact, President Obama has already taken several actions that have met with the approval of the publishing industry. Among his first acts was to issue a memorandum that directed all agencies to be more cooperative in handling Freedom of Information Act requests. Under the Bush administration, FOIA requests were routinely delayed or denied. In his memo, Obama ordered that “all agencies should adopt a presumption in favor of disclosure, in order to renew their commitment to the principles embodied in FOIA, and to usher in a new era of open Government. The presumption of disclosure should be applied to all decisions involving FOIA.” Also in the name of open government, Obama issued an executive order rescinding an order issued by President Bush that placed restrictions on access to presidential papers.
The Bush order, issued in November 2001, gave former presidents and vice presidents, as well as their families, the right to veto the release of presidential papers. The AAP, along with other groups, unsuccessfully fought the order, arguing that it overturned the Presidential Records Act. Judy Platt, who directs AAP's Freedom to Read program, hailed the two changes. “The PRA and the Freedom of Information Act, vital tools for journalists and authors, have been undermined and treated with contempt for eight years. We're delighted to see them made whole again,” Platt said. Chris Finan, president of the American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression, had a similar reaction: “We're delighted to see that as part of his first official acts, President Obama has [restored] the FOIA and Presidential Records Act.”
Publishers and booksellers hope there is more change to come. Finan said he expects some revisions to be made to Section 215 in the Patriot Act, which pertains to searches of records. Finan noted that Eric Holder, nominated for attorney general, said he favored extending 215, even though Obama had co-sponsored legislation that backed revisions. Finan said ABFFE, as well as the Campaign for Reader Privacy, could live with an extension as long as satisfactory reforms were passed. Finan expects Sen. Russ Feingold to reintroduce legislation that would limit the ability of the FBI to conduct record searches only to parties who are suspected of terrorism or known to that suspect. As Section 215 is written now, the FBI can search anyone's records as long as the investigation is related to terrorism.
