The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)
The U.S. Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) is a law ensuring public access to U.S. government records. FOIA carries a presumption of disclosure; the burden is on the government - not the public - to substantiate why information may not be released. Upon written request, agencies of the United States government are required to disclose those records, unless they can be lawfully withheld from disclosure under one of nine specific exemptions in the FOIA. This right of access is ultimately enforceable in federal court.
The U.S. Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) is a law ensuring public access to U.S. government records. FOIA carries a presumption of disclosure; the burden is on the government - not the public - to substantiate why information may not be released. Upon written request, agencies of the United States government are required to disclose those records, unless they can be lawfully withheld from disclosure under one of nine specific exemptions in the FOIA. This right of access is ultimately enforceable in federal court.
What's New
March 29, 2012
Department of Justice Not Qualified to Be FOIA Ombudsman.
March 15, 2012
DOJ OIP Director Pustay testifies that "people misinterpreted," "misconstrued," "didn't necessarily understand," FOIA regulations allowing DOJ to lie to requesters. Issa report gives DOJ a "D" on FOIA.
March 12, 2012
Holder Responds to Rosemary Award
March 6, 2012
Attorney General Eric Holder Refuses to Mention "Targeted Killing" of al-Awlaki to Preserve Right to Glomar FOIA Requests
February 29, 2012
FOIA Statistics Shows the DOJ's "94.5% Release Rate" is a -Ahem- "Stretch."
February 23, 2012
Thirty-Six Groups Sign on to Help Fight the CIA's Covert Attack on Declassification Review. And What's Next??
February 21, 2012
National Security Archive Files a FOIA Request to Find Out Why the CIA is Attempting to Price Out Declassification Reviews
February 17 2012
The Department of Defense Needs Only One Paragraph to Illustrate Why the Declassification System is Broken
February 14, 2012
Justice Department Wins Rosemary Award for Worst OpenGovernment Performance in2011
February 10, 2012
The CIA's Covert Operation Against Declassification Review and Obama's Open Government
February 3, 2012
CIA Claims Release of its History of the Bay of Pigs Debacle Would "Confuse the Public."
February 1, 2012
"Declassification-As-Usual" Mindset Responsible for theNational Declassification Center's LanguidPace
November 14
2011 The Department of Justice's Quest to Weaken FOIA Still Going Strong
November 2, 2011
Senator Grassley Demands Answers from the Justice Department for Claiming that it can Lie to FOIA Requesters
October 25, 2011
Why Agencies Should Not be Allowed to Lie About FOIA Requests
October 1, 2011
John Moss's Decade-Long Fight For FOIA, as Chronicled in "People's Warrior" by Michael Lemov
September 22, 2011
2011 Secrecy Report: A Broad Survey ofTransparency
August 25, 2011
DOD Changes its FOIA Policy on bin Laden Documents
July 28, 2011
DoJ Report on FOIA – Positive, but Incomplete Development for Open Government
July 4, 2011
Eight Federal Agencies have FOIA Requests a Decade Old According to Knight Open Government Survey
June 3, 2011
The FY 2010 ISOO Classification Report to the President. SomeBad News and Some GoodNews.
May 19, 2011
PIDB Proposal: "Three Ideas for Transformation: Classification Tax, Equity Reform, and Sunshine Dates"
May 4, 2011
Will Osama bin Laden's Death Photos be Released Under FOIA? Probably Not.
April 20, 2011
CIA Releases 1917 Invisible Ink Recipe Due to MDR Request, Not Kindness of Heart
March 24, 2011
The New FOIA.gov – Making Spreadsheets Sexy
March 23, 2011
The Rubber Hasn't Met the Road. Response to the Department of Transportation's Letter to the Washington Post.
March 18, 2011
Cheat Sheet for Discretionary FOIA Releases
March 16, 2011
FOIA Audit: Department of the Interior and the Blocked FOIA Blog
March 15, 2011
DOJ claims they responded to FOIA Audit, "but not in time to be included in thereport."
March 14, 2011
FOIA Audit: Report From the Trenches
March 14, 2011
Glass Half Full: 2011 Knight Open Government Survey Finds Freedom of Information Change, But Many Federal Agencies Lag in Fulfilling President Obama's Day One Openness Pledge
March 7, 2011
Quick Look: Milner v. Department of Navy Ruling
March 1, 2011
Supreme Court Rules that Corporations DO NOT Have Exemption 7(C) FOIA Privacy Rights
December 17, 2010
The National Security Archive is Named in a wikileaksCable!
December 14, 2010
Can Government Employees Read the Pentagon Papers?
November 4, 2010
Obama Issues Executive Order Improving "Controlled Unclassified Information"
October 21, 2010
Why is ICE Reviewing and Redacting Documents Already inthe Public Domain?
March 15, 2010
Sunshine and Shadows: The Clear Obama Message for Freedom of Information Meets Mixed Results
January 22, 2010
Government Departments Each Post Three High Value Data
January 7, 2010
The Glomar Response
December 30, 2009
Obama Executive Order on Classification: ReflectsPublic's Comments, Makes a Commitment to Declassify Hundreds of Millions ofPages of Historical Materials, Sets the Stage for Reduction inOverclassification
December 16, 2009
Answers to Questions We Have Been Asked about the E-mail Lawsuit
December 14, 2009
White House E-mail Lawsuit Settled
December 8, 2009
Round-Up of Commentary on Open Government Directive
December 8, 2009
Obama Administration on Open Government: More than Rhetoric?
November 16, 2009
President Obama Recognizes the Basic Human Right to Access to Information
October 30, 2009
FOIA Impact: Why Pictures of Dover Transfer CeremoniesMatter
October 28, 2009
White House Open Government Directive to be Released This Fall
October 26, 2009
Congress Wants It Both Ways on FOIA
Department of Justice Not Qualified to Be FOIA Ombudsman.
March 15, 2012
DOJ OIP Director Pustay testifies that "people misinterpreted," "misconstrued," "didn't necessarily understand," FOIA regulations allowing DOJ to lie to requesters. Issa report gives DOJ a "D" on FOIA.
March 12, 2012
Holder Responds to Rosemary Award
March 6, 2012
Attorney General Eric Holder Refuses to Mention "Targeted Killing" of al-Awlaki to Preserve Right to Glomar FOIA Requests
February 29, 2012
FOIA Statistics Shows the DOJ's "94.5% Release Rate" is a -Ahem- "Stretch."
February 23, 2012
Thirty-Six Groups Sign on to Help Fight the CIA's Covert Attack on Declassification Review. And What's Next??
February 21, 2012
National Security Archive Files a FOIA Request to Find Out Why the CIA is Attempting to Price Out Declassification Reviews
February 17 2012
The Department of Defense Needs Only One Paragraph to Illustrate Why the Declassification System is Broken
February 14, 2012
Justice Department Wins Rosemary Award for Worst OpenGovernment Performance in2011
February 10, 2012
The CIA's Covert Operation Against Declassification Review and Obama's Open Government
February 3, 2012
CIA Claims Release of its History of the Bay of Pigs Debacle Would "Confuse the Public."
February 1, 2012
"Declassification-As-Usual" Mindset Responsible for theNational Declassification Center's LanguidPace
November 14
2011 The Department of Justice's Quest to Weaken FOIA Still Going Strong
November 2, 2011
Senator Grassley Demands Answers from the Justice Department for Claiming that it can Lie to FOIA Requesters
October 25, 2011
Why Agencies Should Not be Allowed to Lie About FOIA Requests
October 1, 2011
John Moss's Decade-Long Fight For FOIA, as Chronicled in "People's Warrior" by Michael Lemov
September 22, 2011
2011 Secrecy Report: A Broad Survey ofTransparency
August 25, 2011
DOD Changes its FOIA Policy on bin Laden Documents
July 28, 2011
DoJ Report on FOIA – Positive, but Incomplete Development for Open Government
July 4, 2011
Eight Federal Agencies have FOIA Requests a Decade Old According to Knight Open Government Survey
June 3, 2011
The FY 2010 ISOO Classification Report to the President. SomeBad News and Some GoodNews.
May 19, 2011
PIDB Proposal: "Three Ideas for Transformation: Classification Tax, Equity Reform, and Sunshine Dates"
May 4, 2011
Will Osama bin Laden's Death Photos be Released Under FOIA? Probably Not.
April 20, 2011
CIA Releases 1917 Invisible Ink Recipe Due to MDR Request, Not Kindness of Heart
March 24, 2011
The New FOIA.gov – Making Spreadsheets Sexy
March 23, 2011
The Rubber Hasn't Met the Road. Response to the Department of Transportation's Letter to the Washington Post.
March 18, 2011
Cheat Sheet for Discretionary FOIA Releases
March 16, 2011
FOIA Audit: Department of the Interior and the Blocked FOIA Blog
March 15, 2011
DOJ claims they responded to FOIA Audit, "but not in time to be included in thereport."
March 14, 2011
FOIA Audit: Report From the Trenches
March 14, 2011
Glass Half Full: 2011 Knight Open Government Survey Finds Freedom of Information Change, But Many Federal Agencies Lag in Fulfilling President Obama's Day One Openness Pledge
March 7, 2011
Quick Look: Milner v. Department of Navy Ruling
March 1, 2011
Supreme Court Rules that Corporations DO NOT Have Exemption 7(C) FOIA Privacy Rights
December 17, 2010
The National Security Archive is Named in a wikileaksCable!
December 14, 2010
Can Government Employees Read the Pentagon Papers?
November 4, 2010
Obama Issues Executive Order Improving "Controlled Unclassified Information"
October 21, 2010
Why is ICE Reviewing and Redacting Documents Already inthe Public Domain?
March 15, 2010
Sunshine and Shadows: The Clear Obama Message for Freedom of Information Meets Mixed Results
January 22, 2010
Government Departments Each Post Three High Value Data
January 7, 2010
The Glomar Response
December 30, 2009
Obama Executive Order on Classification: ReflectsPublic's Comments, Makes a Commitment to Declassify Hundreds of Millions ofPages of Historical Materials, Sets the Stage for Reduction inOverclassification
December 16, 2009
Answers to Questions We Have Been Asked about the E-mail Lawsuit
December 14, 2009
White House E-mail Lawsuit Settled
December 8, 2009
Round-Up of Commentary on Open Government Directive
December 8, 2009
Obama Administration on Open Government: More than Rhetoric?
November 16, 2009
President Obama Recognizes the Basic Human Right to Access to Information
October 30, 2009
FOIA Impact: Why Pictures of Dover Transfer CeremoniesMatter
October 28, 2009
White House Open Government Directive to be Released This Fall
October 26, 2009
Congress Wants It Both Ways on FOIA
April 17, 2008
Ruling on Preservation of White House E-Mails Awaited
New Law Proposed to Address Destruction of Electronic Records
Ruling on Preservation of White House E-Mails Awaited
New Law Proposed to Address Destruction of Electronic Records
April 24, 2008Court Sets Deadline for White House Answers on Missing E-mail
Magistrate Judge Cites "Lack of Precision" in White House Statements
Magistrate Judge Cites "Lack of Precision" in White House Statements
May 6, 2008
House Backups are Incomplete, May Not Contain Some Missing E-mails
Court Filing Says White House Cannot Identify Hard Drives in Use When E-mails Were Lost
House Backups are Incomplete, May Not Contain Some Missing E-mails
Court Filing Says White House Cannot Identify Hard Drives in Use When E-mails Were Lost
March 20, 2008FOI in Practice: Analysis of the Mexican FOI SystemArchive publishes first comprehensive analysis of the Mexican freedom of information law
March 19, 2008
Treasury Wins 2008 "Rosemary Award" as Worst FOIA Agency
National Security Archive Annual Award Cites Shredded Letters, Decade-Long Delays, and Sub-Prime Performance
Treasury Wins 2008 "Rosemary Award" as Worst FOIA Agency
National Security Archive Annual Award Cites Shredded Letters, Decade-Long Delays, and Sub-Prime Performance
March 18, 2008
Court orders White House to show cause why it should not create forensic copies of all electronic mediaSeeks means to protect missing e-mails in response to Archive lawsuit
Court orders White House to show cause why it should not create forensic copies of all electronic mediaSeeks means to protect missing e-mails in response to Archive lawsuit
March 16, 2008
Mixed Signals, Mixed Results
The Knight Open Government Survey
How President Bush's Executive Order on FOIA Failed to Deliver
Mixed Signals, Mixed Results
The Knight Open Government Survey
How President Bush's Executive Order on FOIA Failed to Deliver
