The Wikimedia Foundation, the nonprofit that runs the volunteer-created online encyclopedia Wikipedia, filed a lawsuit against the National Security Agency (NSA) on Tuesday for spying on the nonprofit’s clients and employees.
The plaintiffs, Wikimedia and eight other organizations mostly related to human rights causes, stated that the NSA has such broad authority that it violates the plaintiffs’ Fourth Amendment rights. Moreover, they allege that the NSA transgresses its authorities by monitoring virtually everyone.
Even if they are right, it may be of no use to them in court.
The NSA bases a big part of its vast powers on a 2008 amendment to a law that allows it to spy on foreigners outside of the United States without a warrant.
If the person is not a U.S. resident and is “reasonably believed” to be abroad, the Attorney General and the Director of National Intelligence can jointly authorize surveillance for up to a year.
Yet documents released by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden exposed just how broadly the NSA interpreted the law.
