Nineteen organisations filed a lawsuit on Tuesday against a US spy agency over its sweeping collection of telephone records.

The suit against the National Security Agency (NSA) was filed in a federal court in California by the Electronic Frontier Foundation on behalf of the organisations. The groups, who also name the US Justice Department, the FBI and government officials, point to violations of their constitutional rights.

In addition to the Electronic Frontier Foundation those filing suit include major advocacy groups such as Human Rights Watch and Greenpeace along with religious groups, gun rights advocates and those in favour of drug legalisation.

The complaint points to what it says is the indiscriminate collection and storage of phone records “of millions of ordinary Americans,” claiming the programme is unlawful and conducted without specific suspicions of those whose information was being gathered.

Outrage over the collection of US phone records and international internet traffic has sparked a backlash in the US and abroad, damaging US relations with the European Union and other allies.

The American Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit over the spying last month.

Edward Snowden, a former contractor at the NSA who has admitted to the providing information about the surveillance programmes to newspapers, remains in legal limbo in a Moscow airport. The US is seeking his return to face legal charges, but he has applied for asylum in Russia.

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