Author: NFOIC
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Posts by NFOIC
Federal Judge Says Public Has Right To Know About FBI’s Biometric Database, Awards $20,000 In Legal Fees To FOIA Requester
Another win for the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) and the American public in general. A federal judge has ruled the public has the right to know certain details about the FBI's facial recognition database.
U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan said the bureau's Next Generation Identification program represents a "significant public interest" due to concerns regarding its potential impact on privacy rights and should be subject to rigorous transparency oversight.
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Editorial: Staying well informed is a great way to protect your freedom
Thanks to whistleblowers like Chelsea Elizabeth Manning and Edward Snowden, we are learning to ask what our government knows like informed citizens in a democratic republic should. Manning and Snowden sacrificed their freedom to increase government transparency.
You can uncover a lot of information without the possible risks of whistleblowing using the freedom of information act — FOIA. The FOIA allows people to formally ask the government questions and receive documents that answer those questions.
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Homeland Security Ignores Own Guidelines To Make It Prohibitively Expensive For Media Companies To Obtain FOIA Docs
A thought exercise for Civil Society within the OGP
Open government is about enabling citizens to participate in the decisions that affect their lives, and making government more transparent, responsive and accountable. The Open Government Partnership has emerged as a leading platform in realizing that ambition, with civil society being the principal partner in realizing it. Governments that join OGP have to meet minimum requirements around openness and are monitored closely. What if – in the spirit of partnership – civil society was asked to meet some minimum level of openness? What would it look like?
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UW regents move dinner meetings for public access
Prompted by a legal challenge into whether its dinner meetings were truly open to the public, the University of Washington Board of Regents will no longer regularly be holding them at the off-campus home of UW President Michael Young, as has been its practice for many years.
Instead, the 10-member board will meet at the University of Washington Club, a nonprofit campus social club.
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The Virginian-Pilot sues FBI over denied request
The Virginian-Pilot has filed a lawsuit against the FBI seeking information about a training exercise last year off the coast of Virginia Beach that claimed the lives of two agents.
The newspaper submitted a request under the federal Freedom of Information Act shortly after the May 17, 2013, deaths of Special Agents Christopher Lorek and Stephen Shaw. The paper sought "any reports or memos regarding the training accident," which involved the FBI's elite Hostage Rescue Team.
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New NSA Documents Shine More Light Into Black Box Of Executive Order 12333
What is arguably the most powerful of the U.S. government's surveillance authorities is also the most secretive, and it operates with the least amount of oversight.
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Hayes’ use of Gmail complicates press inquiries
First lady Cylvia Hayes used a private email account while she served as a policy adviser to Gov. John Kitzhaber, and that decision could make it more difficult for the public to learn about Hayes’ role in shaping state policy.
Media organizations and others have requested public records including Hayes’ email correspondence, since an Oct. 8 story in Willamette Week raised questions about Hayes’ pursuit of consulting contracts that dealt with the same topics on which she advised Kitzhaber.
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OGIS founder Miriam Nisbet heads for the exits
A plum job is opening up soon at the National Archives. The director of the Office of Government Information Services is charged with implementing dispute resolution in the Freedom of Information Act process and reviewing agency policy procedures and compliance with the open government law. The job ranges across the federal government, and comes with a small staff and a corner office on North Capitol Street that would have a commanding view of the Capitol Dome, were it not for the imposing and inconveniently situated headquarters of the Government Printing Office across the street.
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