COLUMBIA, Mo. (February 22, 2012) – In a federal district court lawsuit supported by the National Freedom of Information Coalition (NFOIC) and the Knight FOI Fund, a Virginia watchdog organization is challenging a new CIA regulation that obstructs citizen challenges to government overclassification by imposing excessive charges in the review process.
National Security Counselors (NSC), an Arlington-based public interest group, has filed suit in federal district court challenging a new CIA regulation that could cost information seekers up to $72 an hour, even when a mandatory review fails to declassify or release any new information.
Under the new rule, the Mandatory Declassification Review (MDR) program, through which the public can request that CIA documents be declassified, would also require information-seekers to agree to a minimum $15 duplication fee. Concerns are that these exorbitant fees will stymie the efforts of the public to participate in the MDR program and seek the declassification of public information.
See the full release and the complaint here.