https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/pu ... f6a5496db1
The ruling revives a lawsuit that had been killed by a federal judge in Maryland, who had ruled that Wikimedia could not prove when the surveillance was taking place and so had not convinced the judge that it should be allowed to sue over possible harm.
Because Wikimedia engages in over a trillion international communications a year with individuals in virtually every country on earth, the appeals judges ruled, it is plausible to conclude that some of those communications have been collected by the NSA.
The three-judge panel agreed with the lower court that eight other plaintiffs in the case, including the Nation magazine and Amnesty International, do not have standing to bring a case. Those plaintiffs had argued that, through Upstream, the NSA is “intercepting, copying, and reviewing substantially all” text-based communications that leave and enter the country.
This is one of the things that consumes WMF funds. Their massive internet traffic, plus Snowden leaks, are the "proof" that the NSA is collecting at least some of Wikipedia's traffic info. And I can practically guarantee, without any proof of my own, that the WMF was pushed into pursuing this lawsuit partly by insiders who want to edit / control Wikipedia content without the NSA (or anyone else!) knowing what they are doing.
WP dirty tricks are now a part of legal precedent in US courts. And if they win the primary suit (which is kind of doubtful in the present political climate), it will further justify their inherently secretive and abusive internal culture.
