Appeals court: NSA surveillance challenge can move forward

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Richmond, Va. • A federal appeals court says Wikimedia's case challenging the government's practice of collecting certain internet communications can move forward.

The three-judge panel of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Tuesday that Wikimedia has standing to challenge the National Security Agency's "upstream" surveillance practice. The appeals court reversed a lower-court ruling dismissing Wikimedia's case.

The case was brought by the American Civil Liberties Union. ACLU Attorney Patrick Toomey praised the ruling in a statement.

The NSA recently said it will limit such collection to internet communications sent directly to or from a foreign target, instead of those that simply mention foreign intelligence targets.

The ACLU says that despite the change, upstream surveillance continues and the NSA hasn't said it can't revert to the prior practice in the future.