The US government is still holding onto its opacity ideals while publicly touting transparency directives. The FISA court — which presides over the NSA's surveillance programs — has normally been completely shrouded in darkness. Things changed in 2013 after Ed Snowden began leaking documents.
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Read More… from ACLU Sues Government Over Unreleased FISA Court Opinions
In 1966, Congress enacted the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) to create a legal regime under which the American public could gain access to information about its government’s activities. In keeping with Justice Brandeis’s observation that “sunlight is the best disinfectant,” FOIA has become an invaluable tool in forcing information of national interest into the open, and of revealing instances of government waste, fraud, and abuse.
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