Special Collection: Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act—Internet Metadata

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This category brings together litigation addressing the NSA collection of U.S. email metadata that began in 2001. In 2004, the Attorney General sought and obtained judicial ratification of the internet metadata program under Section 402 of FISA, commonly referred to as the Pen Register and Trap and Trace (PR/TT) provision or Section 214 of the USA PATRIOT Act. These records included the "to," "from," "cc," and "bcc" lines of an email and the email's time and date. The Obama administration discontinued the program in 2011.

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NATIONAL SECURITY
In re Directives to Yahoo Pursuant to Section 105B of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. [105B(g) 07-01]

07-00001 | Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court

Filed Date: 2007

Closed Date: 2016

In 2012, leaks by Edward Snowden revealed many details about NSA surveillance programs that had been going on for many years. In the aftermath of those leaks, the government declassified many previou…

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NATIONAL SECURITY
In re Motion to Disclose Aggregate Data Regarding FISA Orders [FISA Docket Misc. 13-04 (Microsoft Corporation)]

13-00004 | Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court

Filed Date: 2013

Closed Date: 2014

For the Civil Rights Litigation Clearinghouse collection of FISA Matters, see our special collection.In June 2013, several major newspapers, including the Guardian (London) and the Washington Post, r…

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NATIONAL SECURITY
In re Motion for Declaratory Judgment to Disclose Aggregate Data Regarding FISA Orders and Directives [FISA Docket Misc. 13-05 (Yahoo!, Inc.)]

13-00005 | Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court

Filed Date: 2013

Closed Date: 2014

For the Civil Rights Litigation Clearinghouse collection of FISA Matters, see our special collection.In June 2013, several major newspapers, including the Guardian (London) and the Washington Post, r…

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NATIONAL SECURITY
In re Motion for Declaratory Judgment to Disclose Aggregate Data Regarding FISA Orders and Directives [FISA Docket Misc. 13-06 (Facebook, Inc.)]

13-00006 | Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court

Filed Date: 2013

Closed Date: 2014

For the Civil Rights Litigation Clearinghouse collection of FISA Matters, see our special collection.In June 2013, several major newspapers, including the Guardian (London) and the Washington Post, r…

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NATIONAL SECURITY
In re Motion for Declaratory Judgment to Report Aggregated Data Regarding FISA Orders [FISA Docket Misc. 13-07 (LinkedIn Corporation)]

13-00007 | Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court

Filed Date: 2013

Closed Date: 2014

For the Civil Rights Litigation Clearinghouse collection of FISA Matters, see our special collection.In June 2013, several major newspapers, including the Guardian (London) and the Washington Post, r…

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NATIONAL SECURITY
FISA Docket PR-TT ---- (Kollar-Kotelly, J) (2004)

PR-TT [Redacted] | Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court

Filed Date: 2004

Closed Date: 2004

For the Civil Rights Litigation Clearinghouse collection of FISA matters, see our special collection. On November 18, 2013, the Director of National Intelligence authorized the declassification and p…

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NATIONAL SECURITY
FISA Docket PR-TT ---- (Walton, J.) (June 2009)

PR-TT [Redacted] | Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court

Filed Date: 2009

Closed Date: 2009

For the Civil Rights Litigation Clearinghouse collection of FISA matters, see our special collection. On November 18, 2013, the Director of National Intelligence authorized the declassification and p…

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NATIONAL SECURITY
FISA Docket PR-TT ---- (Bates, J.) (July 2010)

PR-TT [Redacted] | Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court

Filed Date: 2010

Closed Date: 2010

For the Civil Rights Litigation Clearinghouse collection of FISA matters, see our special collection. On November 18, 2013, the Director of National Intelligence authorized the declassification and p…

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NATIONAL SECURITY
FISA Docket PR-TT ---- (Judge Unknown) (April 2005)

PR-TT [Redacted] | Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court

Filed Date: 2005

Closed Date: 2005

None
NATIONAL SECURITY
FISA Docket PR-TT ---- (Walton, J.) (February 2009)

PR-TT [Redacted] | Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court

Filed Date: 2009

Closed Date: 2009

For the Civil Rights Litigation Clearinghouse collection of FISA matters, see our special collection. On November 18, 2013, the Director of National Intelligence authorized the declassification and p…

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NATIONAL SECURITY
FISA Docket PR-TT ---- (Walton, J.) (May 2009)

PR-TT [Redacted] | Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court

Filed Date: 2009

Closed Date: 2009

For the Civil Rights Litigation Clearinghouse collection of FISA matters, see our special collection. On November 18, 2013, the Director of National Intelligence authorized the declassification and p…

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NATIONAL SECURITY
FISA Docket PR-TT ---- (Walton, J.) (October 2009)

PR-TT [Redacted] | Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court

Filed Date: 2009

Closed Date: 2009

For the Civil Rights Litigation Clearinghouse collection of FISA matters, see our special collection. On November 18, 2013, the Director of National Intelligence authorized the declassification and p…

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NATIONAL SECURITY
FISA Docket PR-TT ---- (Judge Unknown) (Winter 2011)

PR-TT [Redacted] | Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court

Filed Date: 2011

NATIONAL SECURITY
[Caption Redacted] DNI/AG 702(h) Cerifications 2018 (July 2019) (702, Cabranes, J.; Tallman, J.; Sentelle, J.)

[redacted] | Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court

Filed Date: 2018

Closed Date: 2019

Section 702 of the FISA Amendments Act of 2008, 50 U.S.C. § 1881a, permits the Attorney General (AG) and the Director of National Intelligence (DNI) to conduct foreign intelligence surveillance targe…

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NATIONAL SECURITY
Statistical Transparency Report Regarding Use of National Security Authorities (April 2019)

N/A | Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court

Filed Date: April 30, 2019

Closed Date: 2019

On April 30, 2019, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), consistent with the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978, as amended by U.S.C. § 1873(b), released this report …

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NATIONAL SECURITY
In re Opinions and Orders of this Court Containing Novel or Significant Interpretations of Law [FISA Docket Misc. 16-01; FISCR Docket Misc. 20-02]

16-00001 | Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court

Filed Date: Oct. 19, 2016

Case Ongoing

For the Civil Rights Litigation Clearinghouse collection of Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) matters, see our special collection.   On October 19, 2016, the American Civil Liberties Union…

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NATIONAL SECURITY
In re Carter W. Page: A U.S. Person [FISA dockets 16-1182, 17-52, 17-375, 17-679]

16-01182 | Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court

Filed Date: Oct. 1, 2016

Case Ongoing

In 2016, the FBI sought and obtained a Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) warrant against Trump 2016 campaign foreign policy advisor Carter Page. The warrant applications against Page alleg…

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NATIONAL SECURITY
The New York Times Company v. United States Department of Justice

1:16-cv-07020 | U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York

Filed Date: Sept. 8, 2016

Closed Date: Oct. 26, 2017

On September 7, 2016, the New York Times and one of its reporters specializing in national security issues filed a complaint under 5 U.S.C. § 552 (the Freedom of Information Act) in the U.S. District…

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NATIONAL SECURITY
The New York Times Company v. National Security Agency

1:15-cv-02383 | U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York

Filed Date: Jan. 12, 2015

Closed Date: 2016

On January 12, 2015, the New York Times (“the Times”) submitted a Freedom of Information Act (“FOIA”) request to the National Security Agency (“NSA”) pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act, 5 U.S…

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NATIONAL SECURITY
Twitter v. Barr [Holder]

4:14-cv-04480 | U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California

Filed Date: Oct. 7, 2014

Case Ongoing

[Note: This case was previously known as Twitter v. Holder, then Twitter v. Lynch, then Twitter v. Sessions] On October 7, 2014, Twitter -- an online social networking service -- filed a lawsuit in t…

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NATIONAL SECURITY
Schuchardt v. Obama

2:14-cv-00705 | U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania

Filed Date: June 2, 2014

Closed Date: March 2, 2020

On June 2, 2014, a private individual filed this class action lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania. The plaintiff sued the National Security Agency under the De…

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NATIONAL SECURITY
In re Opinions & Orders of this Court Addressing Bulk Collection of Data under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act [FISA Docket Misc. 13-08, FISCR docket 20-1]

13-00008 | Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court

Filed Date: Nov. 7, 2013

Closed Date: April 24, 2020

For the Civil Rights Litigation Clearinghouse collection of FISA matters, see our special collection.   On January 17, 2014, following the disclosure of various dragnet National Security Agency (NSA)…

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NATIONAL SECURITY
First Unitarian Church of Los Angeles v. National Security Agency

4:13-cv-03287 | U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California

Filed Date: Sept. 10, 2013

Case Ongoing

On September 10, 2013, organizations, associations, and advocacy groups, their staffs, and their members who subscribed to major American telecommunication companies filed this lawsuit in the U.S. Di…

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NATIONAL SECURITY
In re Motion for Declaratory Judgment of a First Amendment Right to Publish Aggregate Information about FISA Orders [FISA Docket Misc. 13-03 (Google); Misc. 13-04 (Microsoft); Misc. 13-05 (Yahoo!); Misc. 13-06 (Facebook); Misc. 13-07 (LinkedIn)]

13-00003 | Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court

Filed Date: June 11, 2013

Closed Date: Jan. 27, 2014

For the Civil Rights Litigation Clearinghouse collection of FISA Matters, see our special collection.In June 2013, several major newspapers, including the Guardian (London) and the Washington Post, r…

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NATIONAL SECURITY
In re: National Security Letter, Under Seal v. Holder (Sealed)

3:13-cv-01165 | U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California

Filed Date: March 14, 2013

Case Ongoing

For the complete Civil Rights Litigation Clearinghouse collection of FISA Matters, see our special collection. This Clearinghouse entry describes litigation between the government and the internet in…

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NATIONAL SECURITY
U.S. v. Daoud

1:12-cr-00723 | U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois

Filed Date: Sept. 15, 2012

Case Ongoing

On September 15, 2012, the government initiated criminal prosecution of the defendant in the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon after arresting the defendant the day before. The governmen…

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NATIONAL SECURITY
ACLU v. FBI

1:11-cv-07562 | U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York

Filed Date: Oct. 26, 2011

Closed Date: 2015

On October 26, 2011, the ACLU filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York against the Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigation to compel the …

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NATIONAL SECURITY
In re National Security Letter (3 cases)

3:11-cv-02173 | U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California

Filed Date: May 2, 2011

Case Ongoing

For the complete Civil Rights Litigation Clearinghouse collection of FISA Matters, see our special collection. This case involves a dispute over administrative subpoenas known as National Security L…

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NATIONAL SECURITY
United States v. Mohamud

3:10-cr-00475 | U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon

Filed Date: Nov. 29, 2010

Case Ongoing

On November 19, 2013, the Department of Justice notified Mohamed Osman Mohamud, the criminal defendant in this case, that it had used evidence from a FISA warrantless wiretap in the proceedings leadi…

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NATIONAL SECURITY
Jewel v. National Security Agency

4:08-cv-04373 | U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California

Filed Date: Sept. 18, 2008

Case Ongoing

On September 18, 2008, AT&T customers filed this putative class action in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California against the United States. The plaintiffs, represented by the…

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NATIONAL SECURITY
Al-Haramain Islamic Foundation v. Bush

4:07-cv-00109 | U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California

Filed Date: Jan. 9, 2007

Closed Date: 2012

On February 28, 2006, Al-Haramain Oregon (a non-profit organization) and two of its attorneys filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon under the Foreign Intelligence Surv…

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NATIONAL SECURITY
FISA Docket PR-TT ---- (Judge Unknown) (September 2006)

PR-TT [Redacted] | Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court

Filed Date: Sept. 25, 2006

Closed Date: Nov. 1, 2006

For the Civil Rights Litigation Clearinghouse collection of FISA matters, see our special collection. On November 18, 2013, the Director of National Intelligence authorized the declassification and p…

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NATIONAL SECURITY
In re National Security Agency Telecommunications Records Litigation

3:06-md-01791 | U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California

Filed Date: May 26, 2006

The Consolidation of Cases into 06-MD-1791 On August 9, 2006, the Judicial Panel on Multi District Litigation (MDL Panel) created this matter, MDL No. 06-1791, and set its venue in the Northern Distr…

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NATIONAL SECURITY
Shubert v. Obama

4:07-cv-00693 | U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California

Filed Date: May 17, 2006

Case Ongoing

On May 17, 2006, American citizens who use the telephone and internet filed a putative class action lawsuit on behalf of themselves and others similarly situated in the United States District Court f…

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NATIONAL SECURITY
Hepting v. AT&T

4:06-cv-00672 | U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California

Filed Date: Jan. 31, 2006

Closed Date: 2012

On January 31, 2006, AT&T telephone and internet customers filed a class action lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California against AT&T Corp. and AT&T Inc. The plainti…

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NATIONAL SECURITY
Center for Constitutional Rights v. Obama

3:07-cv-01115 | U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California

Filed Date: Jan. 17, 2006

Closed Date: 2013

On January 17, 2006, the Center for Constitutional Rights and five of its attorneys who represented clients suspected of involvement with terrorist organizations, filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District…

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NATIONAL SECURITY
ACLU v. NSA

2:06-cv-10204 | U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan

Filed Date: Jan. 17, 2006

Closed Date: 2007

On January 17, 2006, a group of organizations including the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), and a number of individuals, filed a law suit in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of…

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NATIONAL SECURITY
Mayfield v. United States

6:04-cv-01427 | U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon

Filed Date: Oct. 4, 2004

Closed Date: Nov. 5, 2007

On October 4, 2004, a practicing lawyer and his family members filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon against the Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Invest…

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