U.S. Government Ordered to Halt National Security Agency’s Internet and Telephone Surveillance Program

U.S. District Judge Anna Diggs Taylor said the spying program, which was authorized by President George W. Bush shortly after the 9/11 terrorism attacks but remained undisclosed until late last year, violates constitutional rights of free speech, privacy and the separation of powers.

She ordered the U.S. government to halt the National Security Agency’s Internet and telephone surveillance program.

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) had filed lawsuit against NSA in January on behalf of journalists, defense lawyers and academics, claiming their international calls were being intercepted by the spying program.

A separate case still looms against AT&T, the largest U.S. telecommunications company. In January 2006, the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a privacy watchdog group, sued AT&T, arguing that it illegally gave customer records to the NSA without a court order. Link