SCOTUS Dockets Surveillance Case vs. NSA Involving Telcos

The Supreme Court docketed a mass surveillance case involving AT&T and Verizon customers (see 2011020063), the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said Thursday in 19-16066. The Electronic Frontier Foundation sued NSA in 2008 over an alleged illegal dragnet program that EFF says involved AT&T and Verizon. A federal district court ruled in the government’s favor, saying revealing classified information at issue would threaten national security by giving adversaries a road map for surveillance practices. A 9th Circuit three-judge panel denied a petition for panel rehearing in October with little explanation. Jewel v. NSA was docketed with the Supreme Court as 21-1017 and awaits consideration.