Surveillance strains the ‘backbone of democracy’

Wikimedia and other groups sued the U.S. National Security Agency on Tuesday and challenged one of its mass surveillance programs under the contention that the agency violates Americans’ privacy. In addition, the groups argue that the program would actually have the adverse effect of making individuals worldwide less likely to share sensitive information.

This lawsuit was filed in a Maryland federal court and claims that the NSA is violating U.S. constitutional protections and the law by tapping into high-capacity cables, switches and routers that move Internet traffic through the United States.

The case may become a potential front for privacy advocates who have challenged U.S. spying programs in the past. Privacy because a hotly contested issue in 2013, when documents leaked by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden revealed the long reach of government surveillance.

This particular case, Wikimedia Foundation, et al, v. National Security Agency, attacks “upstream” collection, which happens along high-capacity cables of the Internet and away from individual users. According to the lawsuit, bulk collection violates the constitution’s First Amendment, which protects freedom of speech and association, and the Fourth Amendment, which protects against unreasonable search and seizure.

“By tapping the backbone of the Internet, the NSA is straining the backbone of democracy,” Lila Tretikov, executive director of the Wikimedia Foundation, said in a statement.

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