USCA Case #14-5004 Document #1570210 Filed: 08/28/2015 6 operated to hamper the breadth of the NSA’s collection. In fact, both the district court and the plaintiffs contradict their own assertions about the effectiveness of the program by emphatically asserting its ineffectiveness in support of their conclusions that it violates the Fourth Amendment. See Klayman, 957 F. Supp. 2d at 40-41 (“I have serious doubts about the efficacy of the metadata collection program . . . .”); Appellees’ Br. at 47-49; Appellees’ Reply at 30-33. Judge Brown distinguishes Clapper on the grounds that the plaintiffs here have offered “specific evidence” about the government’s bulk collection program. Op. of Brown, J., at 3. But, assuming their evidence to be in some sense more specific, the relevant inquiry is whether that evidence indicates that the program targets plaintiffs. As to that, the plaintiffs here do no better than those in Clapper. Plaintiffs complain that the government should not be allowed to avoid liability simply by keeping the material classified. But the government’s silence regarding the scope of bulk collection is a feature of the program, not a bug. The Clapper Court rejected a request for “in camera” review of classified government materials precisely on the ground that any such approach would tend to undermine the program’s effectiveness: As an initial matter, it is respondents’ burden to prove their standing by pointing to specific facts, not the Government’s burden to disprove standing by revealing details of its surveillance priorities. Moreover, this type of hypothetical disclosure proceeding would allow a terrorist (or his attorney) to determine whether he is currently under U.S. surveillance simply by filing a lawsuit challenging the Government’s surveillance program. Even if the terrorist’s attorney were to comply with a Page 16 of 21