On March 12, 2018, the American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California (ACLU-NC) filed this lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. The plaintiffs sued the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) under the Freedom of Information Act ("FOIA"), 5 U.S.C. § 552. The ACLU-NC claimed that it submitted a FOIA request to both TSA Headquarters and TSA's San Francisco Field Office for documents relating to searches of electronic devices of airline passengers, but neither provided any records. The plaintiff sought an order for the TSA to promptly process and release all responsive records, and a declaration that TSA's failure to disclose the requested records was unlawful. The plaintiffs claimed that the TSA violated FOIA by wrongfully withholding records, and specifically, they claimed that the TSA's searches of electronic devices at airports and borders (particularly of domestic air passengers) were a matter of significant public interest. The case was assigned to Magistrate Judge Laurel Beeler.

The TSA moved to dismiss the complaint on June 13, 2018, claiming that (1) the plaintiff failed to state a claim upon which relief can be granted; (2) the TSA performed a reasonable and adequate search for records in response to the plaintiff's FOIA request; (3) the TSA lawfully and appropriately withheld information exempt from disclosure under the FOIA; and (4) the lawsuit was not necessary for the plaintiff to get the information it was entitled to under the FOIA.

Between June and July 2018, the ACLU-NC and the TSA stipulated that they were working in good faith to resolve some of the claims and issues in this action. On August 9, 2018, the parties acknowledged that there were no prior or pending motions, and that they anticipated the matter could be resolved on summary judgment.

TSA filed notice of settlement on December 20, 2018. According the the ACLU of Northern California's website, "TSA ultimately provided a letter stating that it does not conduct device searches and that its personnel abide by TSA Standard Operating Procedures that do not allow device searches of passengers." On January 2, 2019, the plaintiffs filed a motion stipulating to the settlement and dismissing the case with prejudice. The case is now closed.

Dawn Lui - 10/08/2018
Alex Moody - 05/29/2020


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