|
 A lower court judge in San Francisco previously ruled such gag
orders were unconstitutional in a lawsuit filed by an undisclosed
telecom company. The government's appeal of that decision will be
heard by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
Tech companies have sought to clarify their relationships with U.S.
law enforcement and spying agencies, especially after revelations by
former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden that
outlined the depth of U.S. spying capabilities.
Twitter Inc, for instance, sued the U.S. Department of Justice on
Tuesday following months of fruitless negotiations over how much
information the company could disclose about government
surveillance.
 In the case at the 9th Circuit, the plaintiff telecom company says
the FBI's gag orders surrounding so-called "national security
letters" represent an "unprecedented grant of authority" and violate
the First Amendment.
The government, meanwhile, calls such secrecy "vital" in national
security cases because public disclosure could interfere with the
probe or endanger someone's physical safety.
Tech companies including Google Inc, Microsoft Corp and Facebook Inc
filed legal arguments against the government in the case.
[to top of second column] |
The government may not "foist a gag order upon the involuntary
recipient of an NSL," the companies wrote, "let alone prohibit the
recipient from even reporting periodically the aggregate number of
such demands that it receives."
The case will be heard by Judges Sandra Ikuta, N.R. Smith and Mary
Murguia. Ikuta and Smith were both nominated by President George W.
Bush, and Murguia was a President Barack Obama nominee.
The case in the 9th Circuit is Under Seal vs. Eric Holder Jr.,
13-1597.
(Reporting by Dan Levine; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)
[© 2014 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2014 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
 |
