EPIC - EPIC Accepts NSA's Settlement Offer, Receives Attorneys Fees

EPIC Accepts NSA's Settlement Offer, Receives Attorneys Fees

EPIC has accepted the NSA's offer to settle a Freedom of Information Act case EPIC v. NSA. EPIC sought both National Security Presidential Directive 54, a Presidential Directive setting out the scope of the NSA's authority over computer networks in the United States, as well as documents related to NSPD 54. EPIC received some of the documents as a result of the lawsuit, "substantially prevailing" under the FOIA, and prompting the NSA to make a settlement offer to EPIC. As a consequence, EPIC will receive attorneys fees from the NSA. EPIC is simultaneously appealing the lower court's determination that NSPD-54 is not an "agency record" subject to the FOIA. It was the first time a federal court has ruled that a Presidential Directive is not subject to the Freedom of Information Act. For the appeal, EPIC has already filed a Statement of the Issue, and the parties are waiting for the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals to set a briefing schedule. For more information, see EPIC v. NSA - Cybersecurity Authority.

February 11, 2014| Share: