Mar 10, 2015 04:47 PM EDT
Wikipedia Lawsuit: NSA And US Justice Department Sued Over Mass Surveillance

Ever since whistleblower Edward Snowden revealed that, indeed, the American National Security Agency had a massive network of online espionage, things have been tough for the public perception of the NSA - so much, that there's now a Wikipedia lawsuit against them.

Though dubbed a "Wikipedia lawsuit," it isn't only the giant free content Internet encyclopedia that's taking legal action against the NSA and the United States Department of Justice, but rather a conglomerate of organizations that have stood up against the mass surveillance system implanted by the US government.

As Reuters reports, news of the Wikipedia lawsuit came over this past Tuesday, as The American Civil Liberties Union, also known as ACLU, stated that it had filed a lawsuit where Wikimedia (the larger company behind the iconic online encyclopedia) and different organizations including Amnesty International USA, Human Rights Watch and the Rutherford Institute challenged the US government's online surveillance system, citing violations to some of the country's most fundamental freedoms.

In a statement published on their website, Wikimedia explains that the goal of the Wikipedia lawsuit is to end the surveillance program and protect users' rights, not only in the United States but across the world, as the website's one of the most-visited pages on the entire world wide web.

According to The Guardian, the Wikipedia lawsuit claims that the NSA's massive surveillance program in the US violates the Constitution of the country, particularly the first amendment (which protects the freedoms of association and speech) and the fourth amendment, which protects the country's citizens against unreasonable search and seizure.

It's hardly the first time that the NSA's massive surveillance system, dubbed Upstream surveillance, comes to light; currently, whistleblower Snowden has fled the country after leaking information about the NSA, and has vowed he'd only come back if he were given a fair trial for what many consider treason.

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