The American Civil Liberties Union told a federal judge today that North Carolina's effort to collect sales taxes from online retailers could violate shoppers' rights to free speech and privacy.

The ACLU intervened in Amazon.com's federal lawsuit against the N.C. Department of Revenue, in which the online retailer challenges the state's attempt to force the the company to turn over sales information so it can be assessed for taxation. The lawsuit is filed in Seattle, where Amazon is based.

The ACLU's suit is filed on behalf of Asheville Councilman Cecil Bothwell and six anonymous plaintiffs, most of them from the Triangle. Bothwell, an atheist and a publisher of controversial material, is joining the suit on behalf of himself and his readers.