"We are looking into all legal possibilities and the option of taking them to court is obviously on the table," WikiLeaks spokesman Kristinn Hrafnsson told Sputnik. "It is quite possible that we will but it hasn't been decided yet," he added.
STATEMENT: Google hands data to US government in #WikiLeaks espionage case http://t.co/aeqVlRucsB pic.twitter.com/MIxGiOu9si
— WikiLeaks (@wikileaks) 25 января 2015
In a letter to Google's executive chairman published Monday, WikiLeaks called on the Internet giant to provide answers a month after learning that Google had been handing over personal data of its staff members to US authorities without notifying the organization nearly three years ago.
"What Google did was illegal," Hrafnsson stressed, adding that it was illegal to share the personal information of WikiLeaks staff members without informing them and giving them an opportunity to contest the move.
According to the letter sent by Center for Constitutional Rights lawyer Michael Ratner, three WikiLeaks journalists and editors – Sarah Harrison, Kristinn Hrafnsson and Joseph Farrell – were targeted by the US government over allegations of conspiracy and espionage, offences that carry nearly 45-year prison terms.
Ratner: 'Dec 23, 3 WikiLeaks journalists were notified by Google that they provided US Gov w/ email content, deleted emails, metadata, etc.'
— WikiLeaks (@wikileaks) 26 января 2015
"While it is too late for our clients to have the notice they should have had, they are still entitled to a list of Google's disclosures to the government and an explanation why Google waited more than two and a half years to provide any notice," the letter continues.
According to the organization's website, the Justice Department may have issued search warrants and court orders for the records of the WikiLeaks associates "as early as February 2."
