Yahoo was threatened with a $250,000-a-day fine for pushing back against surveillance

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Today, Yahoo announced plans to release new documents detailing its legal fight with the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC) . FISC is best known for authorizing the NSA's widespread data collection orders, issuing its decisions in secret because of the confidentiality of the programs involved. Yahoo says it was involved in a multi-year suit before the FISC court, challenging the court's authority for "what we viewed as unconstitutional and overbroad surveillance," according toa post by Ron Bell, the company's general counsel. At one point during the proceedings, the government threatened to fine the company $250,000 for every day it refused to comply.

The full documents haven't been uploaded yet, but Yahoo says they add up to roughly 1500 pages, some of which have been released previously in more redacted form. It's a new declassification effort, thanks in part to a recently closed case with the FISC's court of review, but a vast portion of the details still remain secret, even from Yahoo's legal team. Still, Bell says it may not be the last time Yahoo pleads its case before FISC, and "we will continue to contest requests and laws that we consider unlawful, unclear, or overbroad."