We get many requests for assistance related to FOIA Exemption 4, which protects from disclosure commercial and financial information provided to the government. For example, over the last few months we have heard from requesters frustrated about delays related to submitter notice and an agency interested in brainstorming how best to communicate with the entities … Continue reading Throwback Thursday: Thinking about Exemption 4
As we move toward a more digitized society, we’re continually looking to build upon electronic access and management of government records. FOIA requesters and agency FOIA professionals came together this week to discuss issues they face working with electronic records. Records management was a key point of discussion — electronic records can be incredibly time-saving, … Continue reading Surging ahead into the electronic world
The Department of State received nearly 19,000 FOIA requests in fiscal year 2012 – clearly, people are interested in the agency’s records! To better satisfy the needs of the public, the department has launched a new FOIA website (available at www.foia.state.gov). State designed the website with researchers in mind. It makes already-public information easier to … Continue reading The Department of State launches a new FOIA site
It would seem that the use of electronic records would simplify the FOIA process; if agencies don’t have to reproduce and redact paper, that’s got to be easier, right? In reality, electronic records raise lots of questions for FOIA programs. For instance: If a requester asks for electronic copies of paper records -- requiring the … Continue reading Reboot your e-records knowledge July 24
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
Four years after making a FOIA request, Tom Tangen was in the dark – portions of his July 2008 FOIA request seeking access to classified information about American rifle grenades used in World War II and the Korean War seemed to have disappeared into a black hole. He’d filed a FOIA request with the National … Continue reading OGIS Case Study: A Ray of Light
The Department of Justice’s Office of Information Policy (OIP) hosted a Freedom of Information Act Administrative Forum on June 5, 2013, giving FOIA professionals – particularly FOIA Public Liaisons – a chance to discuss the issues they face. As with many discussions in this budget climate, the conversation inevitably turned to how to do more … Continue reading FOIA Solutions: Little things mean a lot
Did you check the forecast this morning to see if you should grab an umbrella before you headed out the door? If so, did you know that information collected and distributed by the government helped you to stay dry? Many familiar technologies are built using government data sets, including the National Digital Forecast Database and … Continue reading Forecast: Innovation Ahead
On May 13, 2013 the American Society of Access Professionals (ASAP) presented OGIS Director Miriam Nisbet with the President’s Award for Distinguished Public Service, ASAP’s highest honor. ASAP also gave the Director’s Award for Superior Public Service to the National Archives’ own Public Interest Declassification Board. Congratulations, Miriam and PIDB -- we are so proud … Continue reading Celebrating our Successes
Composing a successful FOIA request can be tricky. Agencies are responsible for a mind-boggling amount of information, and finding a record amid years and years of accumulated documents can feel like searching for the proverbial needle in the haystack (though some requesters and agency professionals would probably argue that the haystack searcher’s task is the … Continue reading The Business of Search
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