ACLU: Censored FBI files revealed

NEW YORK, March 8 (UPI) -- The American Civil Liberties Union said in New York Tuesday newly released FBI files were so censored the words "national security" were blacked out.

The documents were unsealed for the first time because of a 2004 decision by U.S. Judge Victor Marrero, which struck down as unconstitutional a law that permitted the FBI to issue National Security Letters, or NSLs.

NSLs are letters that allowed the FBI to obtain sensitive customer records from Internet service providers and other businesses without judicial oversight, the ACLU said.

The NSL provision is worded so broadly, the ACLU said, it could be used to obtain the names of a political organization's members, the names of a journalist's sources or the names of people who write anonymous "blogs" on the Internet.

The decision also struck down an associated gag provision.

Other wording uncensored in the disclosure includes language requesting the court permanently block the government from enforcing the NSL provision or from penalizing plaintiffs for failing to comply with it, the ACLU said.