EFF sues to uncover government demands to decrypt communications

The Electronic Frontier Foundation is suing the US Department of Justice over its failure to disclose if Internet companies have been compelled to decrypt user data and communications. The EFF action targets applications to and decisions by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC), a Washington (DC) based court that meets in secret to consider cases related to government surveillance and national security. The court's decisions are classified, and Internet companies are prohibited from disclosing any details about warrants received as a result of arguments in front of the court. The result is that little is known about the extent of the court's activities.

In October, the EFF filed a freedom-of-information request seeking more information but, according to its lawsuit, the Department of Justice said it couldn't find any documents relating to the issue. The EFF filed a second freedom-of-information request in March 2016 seeking significant decisions or opinions issued by the FISC, but the group says it so far hasn't received a satisfactory response. Those opinions must be declassified as part of surveillance reforms enacted in 2015's USA Freedom Act, the EFF argues. The lawsuit, which was filed in the US District Court for the Northern District of California in San Francisco, also argues the DOJ must disclose "if the government has ever sought or obtained an order from the FISC requiring third parties to provide technical assistance to carry out surveillance."