The Progressive

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A project of Common Dreams

For Immediate Release
Contact:

Jenn Ettinger, 202-265-1490 ext. 35

Free Press Joins Lawsuit to Stop NSA Spying

WASHINGTON

On Tuesday, Free Press joined a lawsuit filed by the Electronic Frontier Foundation against the U.S. government over its controversial domestic spying program that collects, stores, searches and analyzes in bulk the telephone records of millions of Americans.

The suit alleges that the government is violating the First Amendment right of association by gaining access to the phone records of political and activist organizations and their members.

Free Press President and CEO Craig Aaron made the following statement:

"There's no doubt that when the government tracks, logs and analyzes Americans' phone records there's a chilling effect on activist organizations, including Free Press and its more than 600,000 members. The freedom to communicate is absolutely vital to an organization that relies on daily interactions with its activists to challenge government and corporate wrongdoing and advocate for Internet and press freedom.

"The diverse group of plaintiffs in this case is further evidence of the far-reaching impact of the government's spying program. This is not about right versus left; it's about right versus wrong. Our freedom to connect and communicate is in jeopardy. We hope this case will bring to light the full extent of government spying and put an end to unconstitutional surveillance."

Free Press was created to give people a voice in the crucial decisions that shape our media. We believe that positive social change, racial justice and meaningful engagement in public life require equitable access to technology, diverse and independent ownership of media platforms, and journalism that holds leaders accountable and tells people what's actually happening in their communities.

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