Matters of Consent

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) recently made our work a little bit easier in one small way. We no longer have to ask CFPB’s Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requesters who come to OGIS for assistance to provide consent so the agency can discuss their requests with us. That’s because CFBP alerted the world … Continue reading Matters of Consent

Death breathes new life into some records

We’ve written before about the careful balancing act that Federal agencies must perform when they consider requests for records that contain information about an individual other than the requester—those who work for the government and those who don’t. In most cases, such third-party information will be withheld under Exemption 6 (and possibly Exemption 7(C) if … Continue reading Death breathes new life into some records

Professionalizing the FOIA Profession: The 0306 Government Information Specialist Job Series

Those of us in the FOIA and Privacy fields have long desired to “professionalize” the Government information access field. Traditionally, FOIA and Privacy professionals in the Federal government have had no consistent job titles or descriptions and no clear career path; instead, agencies have taken a patchwork approach, squeezing FOIA and Privacy professionals into sometimes … Continue reading Professionalizing the FOIA Profession: The 0306 Government Information Specialist Job Series

Reconciling FOIA and the Privacy Act

When you request records about yourself from the Federal government, agencies apply both the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and the Privacy Act of 1974 (Privacy Act) to grant the most access possible. FOIA and the Privacy Act have different purposes. FOIA provides the public with a right of access to government records while the … Continue reading Reconciling FOIA and the Privacy Act

The Intersection of FOIA Street and Privacy Act Lane

Both the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and the Privacy Act contain provisions that grant a right of access to Federal records. FOIA applies to records of executive branch agencies on potentially any subject. The Privacy Act applies only to agencies’ records which contain information about individuals that are maintained in a “system of records,” meaning those … Continue reading The Intersection of FOIA Street and Privacy Act Lane

OGIS Case Study #1 – “I am pretty sure the Government has a file on me”

Many people believe that federal law enforcement agencies have some kind of investigatory file on them. The truth is that very few people have been investigated by an agency such as the FBI, but that doesn’t stop many people from requesting their own records from federal law enforcement agencies.  (When an individual requests access to … Continue reading OGIS Case Study #1 – “I am pretty sure the Government has a file on me”