OTI Joins CDT in Amicus Brief Challenging Government Surveillance in Jewel vs. NSA

Last week, New America’s Open Technology Institute joined the Center for Democracy and Technology on an amicus brief asking the Supreme Court to review the Jewel v. National Security Agency case following its dismissal by the lower courts. The Jewel case challenges the NSA’s “Upstream” surveillance program conducted under Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, through which the NSA conducts bulk collection of Americans' internet records.

Prior to this filing, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals had affirmed the lower court’s decision to dismiss the case on “state secrets” grounds without analyzing a single piece of the 1000-page public evidentiary record that the petitioners had assembled. Accordingly, in our amicus brief, OTI and CDT argued that given the 1000-page public evidentiary record that the petitioners had assembled, unless the Supreme Court reviews and intervenes, it is doubtful that any case challenging the lawfulness of government surveillance could proceed on its merits in our courts. OTI and CDT also previously challenged the NSA’s “Upstream” surveillance collection in an amicus brief in the Fourth Circuit in Wikimedia v. NSA.Last week, New America’s Open Technology Institute joined the Center for Democracy and Technology on an amicus brief asking the Supreme Court to review the Jewel v. National Security Agency case following its dismissal by the lower courts. The Jewel case challenges the NSA’s “Upstream” surveillance program conducted under Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, through which the NSA conducts bulk collection of Americans' internet records.

Prior to this filing, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals had affirmed the lower court’s decision to dismiss the case on “state secrets” grounds without analyzing a single piece of the 1000-page public evidentiary record that the petitioners had assembled. Accordingly, in our amicus brief, OTI and CDT argued that given the 1000-page public evidentiary record that the petitioners had assembled, unless the Supreme Court reviews and intervenes, it is doubtful that any case challenging the lawfulness of government surveillance could proceed on its merits in our courts. OTI and CDT also previously challenged the NSA’s “Upstream” surveillance collection in an amicus brief in the Fourth Circuit in Wikimedia v. NSA.