A.C.L.U. Sues to Bar ‘Dragnet’ Collection of Phone Records

[octoberlib]

WASHINGTON — The American Civil Liberties Union on Tuesday filed a lawsuit against the Obama administration over its “dragnet” collection of logs of domestic phone calls, contending that the once-secret program — whose existence was exposed by a former National Security Agency contractor last week — is illegal and asking a judge to both stop it and order the records purged.



The lawsuit, filed in New York, could set up an eventual Supreme Court test. It could also focus attention on this disclosure amid the larger heap of top secret surveillance matters that were disclosed by Edward J. Snowden, a former N.S.A. contractor who came forward on Sunday to say he was the source of a series of disclosures by The Guardian and The Washington Post.

The program “gives the government a comprehensive record of our associations and public movements, revealing a wealth of detail about our familial, political, professional, religious and intimate associations,” the complaint says, adding that it “is likely to have a chilling effect on whistle-blowers and others who would otherwise contact” the A.C.L.U. for legal assistance.

The A.C.L.U. has frequently assisted other plaintiffs in challenges against national security policies, but the government has generally persuaded courts to dismiss such lawsuits without any ruling on the legal merits after arguing that litigation over any classified program would reveal state secrets or that the plaintiffs could not prove they were personally affected and so lacked standing to sue.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/12/us/aclu-files-suit-over-phone-surveillance-program.html?smid=tw-bna&_r=0

[napoleon_in_rags]

1. Wait, their focusing on the cell phone record metadata?

I'm confused:
http://ezinearticles.com/?Buy-Cell-Phone-Records---Tips-on-How-and-Where-to-Buy-Them&id=4427806
I thought the big thing was the internet intercepts, because call logs are basically public data. From link:

A site called Locatecell guarantees that you can obtain anyone's cell phone records. The catch is that you have to pay $100. You provide them the person's name and cell phone number and Locatecell will do the leg work of tracing the other person. You'll get a list of all the calls received by the phone number you gave them, as well as calls made from the number.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/4427806

[AnotherMcIntosh]

2. There's no reason to be confused, unless you want to be.

The lawsuit by the ACLU is addressing one of many issues.

At a future time, the ACLU and/or others can file one or more lawsuits regarding the Internet intercepts.

[napoleon_in_rags]

4. Is it correct that the NSA is getting data private Americans can buy through these sites?

That's what I don't get.

[AnotherMcIntosh]

3. K&R