RALEIGH - The American Civil Liberties Union and ACLU of North Carolina today sent a letter to Kenneth Lay, Secretary of the North Carolina Department of Revenue (NCDOR), reiterating concerns over a recent request by the NCDOR for the private records of Amazon.com customers. The letter informs Lay that the ACLU will take legal action on behalf of North Carolina residents who are Amazon customers if the NCDOR persists in its demand for their constitutionally protected private information. Specifically, the letter says the ACLU and its clients will intervene in an existing lawsuit brought by Amazon to stop the NCDOR from collecting individually identifiable information that could be linked to specific purchases made on Amazon.com.
According to the lawsuit filed by Amazon in the Western District of Washington in April, the NCDOR issued a request to Amazon for the purchase records dating back to August 2003 of sales to customers with a North Carolina shipping address. Amazon has apparently already provided the NCDOR with data about the purchases, including product codes which reveal the exact items purchased, such as books on the subjects of mental health, alcoholism and LGBT issues. Amazon has withheld individually identifiable user information, including names and addresses that could be linked back to the individual purchases, but asserts that the NCDOR continues to insist that such information be disclosed. In its letter today, the ACLU asserted that such disclosure would violate the constitutional rights of thousands of North Carolina consumers to read and purchase the lawful materials of their choice, free from government intrusion.
The following can be attributed to Aden Fine, staff attorney with the ACLU's Speech, Privacy and Technology Project:
"The Constitution guarantees Americans the right to read and buy the lawful materials of their choice without the government keeping tabs on the details of their purchases. Amazon was right to stand up for the rights of its customers and to refuse to turn over their personal information to the North Carolina Department of Revenue."
The following can be attributed to Jennifer Rudinger, Executive Director of the ACLU of North Carolina:
"The ACLU is not taking issue with the Department's authority to collect taxes on the value of these purchases, but there is no legitimate reason why government officials need to know which North Carolina residents are reading what books or purchasing which specific brands of products. We hope to be able to work out a satisfactory resolution to this matter so that consumers in North Carolina can rest assured that their privacy is protected."