Why did critics argue that Section 215 threatened First Amendment freedoms of speech and association?

Critics argued that Section 215 of the USA PATRIOT Act undermined First Amendment freedoms of speech and association for two primary reasons. First, they contended that the provision permitted the government to conduct searches based, in part, on an individual’s exercise of these protected rights. Second, critics objected to the section’s mandatory gag order, which prohibited third parties from disclosing that the Federal Bureau of Investigation had sought or obtained records, even in instances where there was no legitimate need for such secrecy.1