Freedom of Information Act – Page 6 – National Freedom of Information Coalition

As shutdown commences, federal open government databases go dark or dormant

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From NJ.com: As hundreds of thousands of federal workers were sent home amid the first federal government shutdown since the 1990s, so too did many of the databases that provide government transparency and allow researchers to understand the social and economic fabric of the United States.

Because of a lack of staffing or because they were deemed non-essential services, much of the statistical information kept by the federal government will remain dormant as long as the shut down continues, if it hasn’t disappeared entirely.

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Court curbs CIA use of a FOIA exemption

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From The Federation of American Scientists: The Central Intelligence Agency tried to make “inappropriate” use of an exemption from the Freedom of Information Act to withhold information that was not subject to the exemption, a federal court ruled last month.

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Judge turns down FOIA for bin Laden burial records

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From Las Vegas Sun: A federal judge is siding with the Navy in its refusal to release some records about the 2011 burial at sea of terrorist leader Osama bin Laden.

U.S. District Court Judge Richard Leon this week turned down a bid by Judicial Watch, a conservative watchdog group, to get the records under the Freedom of Information Act.

Visit Las Vegas Sun for more.

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Open-government laws fuel hedge-fund profits

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From The Wall Street Journal: WASHINGTON—When SAC Capital Advisors LP was weighing an investment in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc., the hedge-fund firm contacted a source it knew would provide nonpublic information without blinking: the federal government.

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NSA bought hacking tools from Vupen, a French based zero-day exploit seller

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From The Hacker News: The US government, particularly the National Security Agency has been paying a French security firm for backdoors and zero day hacks.

According to a contract newly released in response to a Freedom of Information request, last year the NSA purchased a 12-month subscription to a “binary analysis and exploits service” sold by Vupen, a zero-day Exploit Seller based in France.

Visit The Hacker News for more.

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Failed Pentagon fax machine blocks FOIA requests

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From ars technica: The Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD) will not be faxing any orders to Five Guys or receiving journalists’ Freedom Of Information Act requests anytime soon. According to a report from the FOIA request service MuckRock, the OSD’s sole fax machine—the only effective electronic conduit for sending FOIA requests to the Pentagon—is down for the count and won’t be replaced until October at the earliest. […]

Freedom of Information Act: Requests and denials climb, backlog slows

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From Investigative Reporting Workshop: The federal Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) provides that government agency records are open to the public. Access can provide insight into such things as how taxpayer money is spent and what correspondence reveals about relationships between Congress and government agencies or between the agencies and private parties. […]

FOIA suit reveals Guantánamo’s ‘indefinite detainees’

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From Miami Herald: GUANTANAMO BAY NAVY BASE, Cuba — The Obama administration Monday lifted a veil of secrecy surrounding the status of the detainees at Guantánamo, for the first time publicly naming the four dozen captives it defined as indefinite detainees — men too dangerous to transfer but who cannot be tried in a court of law.

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U.S. surveillance court won’t stop release of secret ruling

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From Bloomberg Businessweek: The secret U.S. court that rules on surveillance requests from intelligence agencies said it won’t stand in the way of an activist group’s lawsuit seeking the release of one of its nonpublic opinions.

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Court allows classified documents to be withheld

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From Legalbrief Today: The US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit has ruled that the US Trade Representative (USTR) can legally withhold classified documents regarding free trade negotiations under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), says a Jurist report.

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