ACLU, Justice Face Off Thursday in 4th Circuit Over NSA Internet Surveillance Program
The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals will hear oral argument Thursday in a case led by the American Civil Liberties Union challenging the NSA's internet surveillance program. ACLU attorney Patrick Toomey will square off against DOJ attorneys before a…
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three-panel judge at 9:30 a.m. in Richmond, Virginia, over the "upstream" program that targets non-U.S. individuals by acquiring their online communications via the internet backbone networks of U.S. service providers. The surveillance is done under Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA). Wikimedia Foundation v. NSA was initially lodged in March 2015 (see 1503100036 and 1509040029), but was dismissed by a district court in October 2015 (see 1510270022). The ACLU-led group argues Section 702 allows the NSA to do warrantless surveillance of Americans who communicate with targeted non-U.S. persons located abroad, said the civil liberties group in a Tuesday news release. DOJ said in a filing the groups lack standing because their arguments aren't "supported by sufficient factual allegations to plausibly state a claim of concrete, imminent injury." ACLU said public disclosures and reports show the government "copying and reviewing virtually all text-based communications entering and leaving the country." Plaintiffs are ACLU, Wikimedia Foundation, Amnesty International USA, Global Fund for Women, Human Rights Watch, The Nation magazine, National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, PEN America, Rutherford Institute and Washington Office on Latin America.