LET STAND: The Supreme Court is leaving in place a federal law that gives telecommunications companies legal immunity for helping the government with its email and telephone eavesdropping program.
THE COMPANIES: Justices will not review a court ruling that upheld the 2008 law against challenges brought by privacy and civil liberties advocates on behalf of customers including AT&T, Sprint and Verizon.
THE LAW: The case stemmed from surveillance rules passed by Congress that included protection from legal liability for telecommunications companies that allegedly helped the U.S. spy on Americans without warrants.