Judge White of the Northern District of California just issued an order granting the government's motion for partial summary judgment in Jewel v. NSA, EFF's longest-running case challenging mass spying.
EFF will keep fighting the unlawful, unconstitutional surveillance of ordinary Americans by the U.S. government. Today's ruling in Jewel v. NSA was not a declaration that NSA spying is legal. The judge decided instead that "state secrets" prevented him from ruling whether the program is constitutional.
It would be a travesty of justice if our clients are denied their day in court over the “secrecy” of a program that has been front-page news for nearly a decade. Judge White’s ruling does not end our case. The judge's ruling only concerned Upstream Internet surveillance, not the telephone records collection nor other mass surveillance processes that are also at issue in Jewel.
We will continue to fight to end NSA mass surveillance.
EFF is considering our next steps and will have more in-depth analysis of the court's decision soon.