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ACLU Sues Over NSA Surveillance

Seeks to halt collection of phone records.

The American Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit on Tuesday aimed at stopping the Obama administration from collecting large swaths of telephone data through the National Security Agency. The ACLU contends that the program, which was brought to light by whistleblower Edward Snowden, is illegal and gives the government “a comprehensive record of our associations and public movements, revealing a wealth of detail about our familial, political, professional, religious and intimate associations." Filed in New York, the lawsuit could make its way to the Supreme Court. Previous attempts to stop the government from dragnet-style information gathering have failed because plaintiffs couldn't prove they were affected. However, the ACLU is a customer of Verizon, which has been implicated in the scandal.