The American Civil Liberties Union contends that North Carolina's efforts to collect sales taxes from online retailers could lead to government snooping on consumers' online shopping habits.

In court papers filed Wednesday, the nonprofit advocacy group argued that the N.C. Department of Revenue's audit of Amazon.com seeks private customer information the government doesn't need and should not have. The audit is part of the agency's attempt to collect a 7.75 percent sales tax by gathering customer information from at least 350 online retailers, including Amazon.com, that sell to North Carolina residents, who don't pay sales taxes on their purchases.