Steve Quayle News Alerts

January 18, 2003
By Andrea Ball, AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF

University of Texas officials are fighting an open records decision ordering them to release details about campus security cameras, claiming it would threaten national security.

A lawsuit filed in Travis County District Court this week by UT-Austin and the University of Texas System asked the court to overturn an opinion by Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott that would force them to unveil information such as locations, recording hours and technical details about the school's surveillance cameras.

University officials say the disclosure could leave UT vulnerable to terrorist and criminal attacks. They even invoke the Patriot Act in court papers, claiming the details could weaken national security by leaving critical infrastructure exposed. Congress passed the anti-terrorism act immediately after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

"It is the position of the University of Texas at Austin that the protection of our national security qualifies as a compelling reason for withholding the information," one document states.

But The Daily Texan, the student newspaper that requested the information, maintains that the information should be public.

"People have the right to know when they are being watched, especially by a governmental agency," said Jason Hunter, the paper's editor. "The public's right to know outweighs any potential security concerns."

This is the first case in which Abbott has asserted an aggressive policy favoring open records. He campaigned on a platform of open government and said this week that he will try to speed up rulings in open records cases. He also plans to ask the Legislature for money to boost the open records division.

"That's one of his top priorities in his administration," said Angela Hale, communications director for the attorney general's office. "This ruling is an example of his commitment to open government."

The conflict at UT began in October, when the newspaper's investigative reporter, Jonathan York, asked for locations, specifications, contracts and budgets for surveillance cameras used by UT police. UT officials refused to provide the information, saying it falls under the law enforcement exemptions in the state's Freedom of Information Act. They asked the attorney general's office for an official opinion. He sided with the students.

"They're not a law enforcement agency, and they don't fall under the act," Hale said. "Attorney General Abbott says he believes the public has a right to know. This information is clearly public record."

Patricia Ohlendorf, vice president for institutional relations and legal affairs at UT, said that when it comes to public spaces, she thinks that people have no expectation of privacy.

"I think the public has come to expect that security measures will be taken," she said.

Civil libertarians immediately criticized the Patriot Act when it was passed, and the American Civil Liberties Union issued a report Wednesday detailing such concerns, including the increasing use of video surveillance. Under the Patriot Act, the government can demand that libraries turn over reading habits of patrons. Authorities can more easily attain telephone and computer wiretaps and conduct searches in secret without immediately notifying the target.

Jay Stanley, spokesman for the ACLU technology and liberty program in Washington, D.C., said government agencies also are withholding more public information more often.

"It's kind of the flip side thing," he said. "They want to get more information from us because of security, but they want to give us less information."

Hale, of the state attorney general's office, said she expects many agencies to file bills asking legislators for permission to keep information secret, citing safety concerns. She said: "This is going to be a big deal."

http://www.austin360.com/statesman/editions/saturday/news_4.html