Wikimedia Foundation v. NSA

*Wikimedia v. National Security Agency*
Date	March 10, 2015
Theme	Lawsuit against the National Security Agency
Cause	Alleged illegal espionage by the National Security Agency
Organised by	American Civil Liberties Union, Wikimedia Foundation, National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International USA, PEN American Center, Global Fund for Women, The Nation, Rutherford Institute, Washington Office on Latin America
Outcome	Proposed lawsuit

Wikimedia v. NSA is the name of the lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) on behalf of the Wikimedia Foundation and several other organizations against the National Security Agency (NSA), the United States Department of Justice, and other named individuals, alleging mass surveillance of Wikipedia users carried out by the NSA.^[1]^[2] The suit claims upstream surveillance breaches the first amendment of US Constitution which protects freedom of speech and the fourth amendment which prohibits unreasonable search and seizure.^[3]

The plaintiffs are the Wikimedia Foundation, the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International USA, the PEN American Center, the Global Fund for Women, The Nation magazine, the Rutherford Institute, and the Washington Office on Latin America.^[3]^[4]

Upstream surveillance was first revealed by Edward Snowden, a former NSA analyst. A previous challenge by the ACLU, Clapper v. Amnesty International USA, failed for lack of evidence, but Wikimedia and the ACLU believe their new lawsuit will succeed because one of Snowden's leaked disclosures included a classified NSA slide that specifically referred to Wikipedia. ACLU attorney Patrick Toomey noted the lawsuit is particularly relevant as the plaintiffs engage in "hundreds of billions of international communications each year".^[5]^[6]