RESEARCH TRIANGLE, NC – The American Civil Liberties Union heads to Federal Court in Seattle today to argue that North Carolina’s request for information about purchases made by Amazon.com customers is unconstitutional and violates their rights to free speech, anonymity and privacy.

The NC Department of Revenue (NCDOR) contends that Amazon or its customers owe the state up to $50 million in unpaid sales taxes. The state maintains it has not requested any personal information about Amazon customer purchases.

Amazon filed a lawsuit in April 2010 to halt the NCDOR from collecting personally identifiable information about its customers that could be linked to specific purchases on the Amazon site.

In June, the ACLU, ACLU of North Carolina Legal Foundation and ACLU of Washington intervened on behalf of seven Amazon customers.

The NCDOR has filed motions to dismiss both the Amazon and ACLU complaints. Amazon, in turn, filed a motion for summary judgment.