[…]
Read More… from Revising FOIA for Improved Access to Government Information
Tag: Federal Government
US Won’t Reveal Records on Health Website Security
After promising not to withhold government information over "speculative or abstract fears," the Obama administration has concluded it will not publicly disclose federal records that could shed light on the security of the government's health care website because doing so could "potentially" allow hackers to break in.
[…]
Read More… from US Won’t Reveal Records on Health Website Security
Lawsuit claims White House hindering FOIA requests
A conservative legal group on Monday plans to file a lawsuit alleging that the White House’s tight control over document requests has led to Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) violations by 12 federal agencies.
Cause of Action said the agencies have not handed over documents that the organization asked for up to 14 months ago and that the requests appear to be under White House review, according to a copy of the complaint obtained by The Washington Post. The group plans to file its lawsuit with the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.
[…]
Read More… from Lawsuit claims White House hindering FOIA requests
Opinion: ‘Transparency advocates must learn from gay rights movement’
Opinion: NSA Chief Keith and the Revolving Door
Over at The Atlantic, Conor Friedersdorf has an excellent piece on Jason Leopold's FOIA lawsuit to obtain former NSA chief Keith Alexander's financial disclosure statements.
[…]
Read More… from Opinion: NSA Chief Keith and the Revolving Door
Blog: Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac: Light Of Truth FOIA Campaign Set To Launch
Some of our readers came up with a brilliant plan today to launch a coordinated FOIA (Freedom of information act) campaign. You can see how this came about in the comments section of last nights post 7/31/14. I think its a great idea.I believe we have a distinguished guest participating occasionally in our comments section as well. We should come up with the search terms, date’s etcetera. It will be very helpful to coordinate everything from this one post to avoid redundant requests.
[…]
Read More… from Blog: Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac: Light Of Truth FOIA Campaign Set To Launch
FOIA Reform Support Needed Now!
From Open the Government: Earlier this year, Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VIT) and Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) introduced S. 2520, the FOIA Improvement Act. The bill has generated a lot of enthusiasm in the open government community because it puts reins on agencies' overuse of the exemption covering "pre-decisional material" by requiring that they weigh the public interest in the release of the record.
[…]
More than economics: The social impact of open data
The national governments of the US, the UK, and other G7 nations have been focusing more attention on the economic value of open data, as opposed to broader societal benefits.
[…]
Read More… from More than economics: The social impact of open data
How to get information out of the EPA
In January 2012, I filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request with the Environmental Protection Agency asking for copies of correspondence between the EPA and various green groups active in the Marcellus Shale region. The request was filed on behalf of the Franklin Center for Government and Public Integrity, the parent company of Watchdog.org. The FOIA asked the agency to provide us with “any discussion and correspondence with outside groups that concerns potential regulatory action that would impact the fracking process.”
[…]
4 keys to digitizing federal records
As government records grow in both volume and type, agencies are challenged with managing that information in a manner that combines physical and digital environments. Moreover, by 2019, agencies will be required to manage their permanent electronic records in a format that meets the guidelines of the presidential directive on managing government records.
[…]