Biden’s legacy: Leaving FOIA in shambles
AP Illustration
The Freedom of Information Act gives the public a right to access government records.
The Freedom of Information Act is supposed to shed light on government activity by giving journalists and the public access to government records. But the law is in shambles. From endless delays in response time and unjustified refusals to ridiculously overbroad redactions, FOIA is plagued with problems.
We must fight back against the government’s refusal to comply with FOIA and urge Congress to reform the law and end backlogs of requests, reduce the number of exemptions, and overturn damaging court decisions.
Featured Items
-
Does Elon Musk think the government is the best place to hide records?
The Trump adviser has said all government records should be public. DOGE will show if he means it.
-
Israel’s detainment of reporters must stop
The U.S. should not only demand its ally explain the arrest of an American journalist, but pressure it to release the 43 Palestinian journalists who remain in custody if it can’t prove they committed a crime.
-
NY law will needlessly delay release of public records
Requirement to notify government employees when their disciplinary records are requested is about secrecy, not privacy
-
New bipartisan Senate bill seeks to reduce overclassification
A World War I-era document containing a secret ink recipe that the CIA deemed worthy of classification for nearly 100 years
-
Copyright and public records don’t mix
A new court decision using copyright law to deny release of public records from the Covenant School shooting investigation harms the public’s right to know
-
States keep public in dark with anti-transparency reforms
Laws limiting public records access make it harder for journalists to hold executive branch officials accountable
-
Report highlights need for journalists to push back when stonewalled
News readers need to know when the government withholds information from them
-
State lawmakers shut the shades during Sunshine Week
During a week celebrating government openness, three states — New Jersey, Colorado, and California — considered or enacted anti-transparency laws
-
Sunshine Week brings focus to public record lawsuits
U.S. Press Freedom Tracker highlights costs of government secrecy to taxpayers
-
Journalists must be able to cover America’s incarcerated
Legal brief challenges secrecy around injuries and deaths in San Diego County jails
