On Friday, May 6, our lawyers at the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) took the next step in our appeal of Wikimedia Foundation v. NSA, filing a reply brief answering the government’s response to our opening brief. This lawsuit, filed in March, 2015, challenges the United States’ National Security Agency (NSA)’s Upstream mass surveillance practices. District Court Judge T.S. Ellis, III, dismissed the case last October; we filed our appeal with the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals earlier this year.
In this filing, we squarely address the government’s arguments, explaining in detail why we and our co-plaintiffs have standing to bring these claims. Oral arguments have not yet been scheduled, but will likely take place in the fall. We will continue to publish updates on this important fight to protect the privacy and free expression rights of Wikimedia users.
For more information about mass surveillance and Wikimedia Foundation v. NSA, please visit our resources page on the case.
Jim Buatti, Legal Fellow
Aeryn Palmer, Legal Counsel
Wikimedia Foundation
Special thanks to all who have supported us in this litigation, including the ACLU’s Patrick Toomey, Jameel Jaffer, Alex Abdo, and Ashley Gorski; and Aarti Reddy, Patrick Gunn, and Ben Kleine of our pro bono counsel Cooley, LLP; and the Wikimedia Foundation’s Geoff Brigham, Michelle Paulson, and Zhou Zhou.
