Clapper update: ACLU moved Second Circuit to stop the Gov’t from resuming illegal mass surveillance of phone records

As reported here, on May 7, 2015, the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit found that the controversial surveillance program according to which the NSA collected Americans’ phone records was not authorized under Section 215 of the USA Patriot Act (ACLU v. Clapper, 2015 U.S. App. LEXIS 7531). On June 9 – after […]

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Second Circuit directs parties to submit briefs on the impact of USA Freedom Act on the Clapper case

As we previously reported (see here) on May 7, 2015, the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit found that the controversial surveillance program according to which the National Security Agency (NSA) has been collecting Americans’ phone records was not authorized under Section 215 of the USA Patriot Act (ACLU v. Clapper, 2015 U.S. […]

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Alan Butler, StandingUp to Clapper: How to Increase Transparency and Oversight of FISA Surveillance

New England Law Review, Vol. 48, 2013 Abstract: “The Supreme Court held in Clapper v. Amnesty International that a group of non-profit organizations, journalists, and attorneys representing international clients did not have standing to challenge “programatic surveillance” of “one-end domestic” communications under Section 702 the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. This article reviews the Court’s opinion […]

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Data breach class actions cases in 2013, 2014, and 2015: the problem of “standing”

Several class actions have been filed in recent years against companies that had their database compromised as a consequence of a data breach. The class usually consists of consumers whose information was stolen in the breach. The problem that plaintiffs have faced in the majority of these actions is lack of standing. Indeed, in most […]

NSA to stop data collection of a California law firm’s metadata?

On November 9, 2015, the D.C. District Court filed an order barring the US government from collecting, as part of the NSA’s Bulk Telephony Metadata Program, any metadata associated with a California lawyer and his law firm. Klayman v. Obama.  However, on November 10, 2015, the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia ordered […]

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NSA’s spy powers limited by a recent federal court’s ruling

On May 7, 2015, the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit found that the controversial surveillance program according to which the National Security Agency (NSA) has been collecting Americans’ phone records is not authorized under the USA Patriot Act. ACLU v. Clapper, 2015 U.S. App. LEXIS 7531. In particular, the court held that the […]

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