FTRF sues for data on patriot act surveillance. (News Fronts Washington).

The Freedom to Read Foundation has joined three other groups in suing the U.S. Department of Justice to obtain information about how the government has used its expanded surveillance powers granted by the USA Patriot Act.

The suit--filed October 24 by the American Civil Liberties Union, the Electronic Privacy Information Center, the American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression, and the FTRF--seeks information about how many times the government sought records from libraries, bookstores, and Internet service providers. It also asks how often the Justice Department has used its new powers to conduct various types of searches and surveillance.

The ACLU, EPIC, and …