FOIA News: NexGen FOIA Tech Showcase 3.0

Federal Agencies Turn to AI to Fix FOIA Backlogs

By Jillian Hamilton, ClearanceJobs, Feb. 9, 2026

Ever tried to submit a FOIA request about the status of your security clearance investigation and then heard nothing but crickets for weeks or even months? If you have, you are not alone. Whether you are a member of the public trying to get answers or a government employee buried under a growing queue of requests, the frustration is real. The FOIA system does important work, but just about everyone involved would agree it is overdue for a refresh.

That is exactly the problem federal agencies are trying to tackle with the upcoming NexGen FOIA Tech Showcase 3.0. Recently announced on SAM.gov, the virtual event scheduled for May 12 through May 14, 2026 brings together federal FOIA professionals and technology experts to look at how modern tools, including artificial intelligence, could finally bring FOIA processing into the present day.

The event is being organized by the Chief FOIA Officers Council’s Technology Committee in partnership with the Office of Government Information Services at National Archives and Records Administration and the Office of Information Policy at the U.S. Department of Justice. It follows earlier showcases held in 2022 and 2024, both of which focused on helping agencies address persistent FOIA backlogs, case management challenges, and growing public expectations around speed and accessibility.

Read more here.

FOIA News: DOL's EEO-1 reports closer to disclosure

Ninth Circuit’s FOIA Ruling Moves Toward Implementation in EEO‑1 Disclosure Case

By Guy Brenner & Mallory Knudsen Hart, Proskauer Rose LLP, Feb. 9, 2026

On February 5, 2026, the parties in Center for Investigative Reporting v. U.S. Department of Labor jointly asked the United States District Court for the Northern District of California to lift the temporary stay that has halted disclosure of certain federal contractors’ EEO-1 Type 2 reports.  Accordingly, the legal case appears to be effectively over and disclosure is imminent. The parties’ request seeks to lift the stay as of February 9, 2026, so that the Department of Labor (“DOL”) can begin releases on a set timetable.

Contractors who submitted challenges to the disclosure of their EEO-1 data should be prepared that their data will be disclosed to the Center for Investigative Reporting as early as February 9, 2026.  Further, if past practice is any indication, the information will also be posted on the DOL’s website and available to the public.

Read more here.

See joint stipulation here.

FOIA News: America First Legal Foundation files notice of appeal to D.C. Circuit in GAO FOIA fight

This past Friday, February 6th, America First Legal Foundation (“AFLF”) filed a Notice of Appeal to the D.C. Circuit in America First Legal Foundation v. U.S. Government Accountability Office, a Freedom of Information Act (“FOIA”) case that challenges GAO’s status as an “agency.” As we noted last month, Judge Sparkle Sooknanan—unsurprisingly—dismissed AFLF’s case, holding that GAO was a legislative-branch agency and, thus, excluded from the FOIA’s definition of “agency” because it is part of “Congress.”

AFLF has not yet noticed an appeal in what might be described as a companion case, America First Legal Foundation v. Roberts, which challenges whether the Judicial Conference and the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts are “agencies” for purposes of the FOIA. Judge Trevor McFadden granted the government’s motion to dismiss in that case on December 18, 2025.

FOIA News: The survey says . . .

The FOIA Advisory Committee’s “Volume and Frequency” subcommittee is running an anonymous survey of federal employees to understand how they handle burdensome or AI-generated FOIA requests. The questions ask about workload, vexatious or resource-heavy requests, strategies to prevent delays, proactive disclosures, and experiences with AI-generated requests—including how to identify and manage them. The survey is open until March 20, 2026.

[AB comment: The Committee already has the expertise to understand these challenges firsthand. Yet every term, it seems to default to launching new surveys rather than relying on the judgment of its own members.]

FOIA News: More annual reports

On January 26, 2026, we reported that we had found online 14 annual agency FOIA reports for fiscal year 2025. Here are ten more reports that we’ve found since then.

• Admin. Conference of the United States

• Commodity Futures Trading Comm’n

• Fed. Labor Relations Auth.

• Fed. Mediation & Conciliation Serv.

• Merit Systems Prot. Bd.

• NASA

• Nat’l Council on Disability

• Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp.

• Udall Found.

• U.S. Trade & Dev. Agency

FOIA News: 2nd Circuit hears Epstein FOIA case

Second Circuit signals remand of Epstein FOIA case in light of new transparency act

Radar Online says the Justice Department has “stonewalled” any production of documents related to the federal investigation into convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein in the mid-2000s that resulted in his controversial non-prosecution deal.

By Josh Russell, Courthouse News, Jan. 28, 2026

A New York City federal appeals court on Wednesday signaled it was likely to remand a FOIA case seeking documents from the FBI’s 2000s investigation into pedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein back to a lower court to consider how the bureau’s public disclosure obligations are now shaped by the Epstein Files Transparency Act and pending appeals from Epstein’s convicted co-conspirator Ghislaine Maxwell.

Tabloid website Radar Online sued the FBI in Manhattan federal court in 2017 — one year before the Miami Herald ran a bombshell exposé on the disgraced billionaire Epstein’s sex crimes — seeking production of documents from the federal investigation into Epstein’s underage sex trafficking operation, but the lower court sided with the Department of Justice in 2024, ruling on a second summary judgment that the FBI was right to decline the FOIA request for privacy concerns and issues related to the Maxwell case.

During oral arguments on Wednesday, Radar asked the appeals court to vacate the lower court’s “categorical, blanket” exemption from the disclosure obligations under the Freedom of Information Act and to remand the case back to the District Court judge to reconsider the FBI’s FOIA obligations and how that may align with the documents that are expected to be released under the Epstein Files Transparency Act.

Read more here.

FOIA News: D.C. Circuit to Hold Oral Argument in FOIA Clawback

On Thursday, January 29, 2026, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit will hear oral argument in Gun Owners of America, Inc. v. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco & Firearms, No. 25-5309. A livestream is available here.

This case concerns the proper interpretation of the D.C. Circuit’s decision last year in Human Rights Defense Center v. U.S. Park Police (D.C. Cir. 2025), and the ability of courts to order “clawback” of inadvertently disclosed agency records as an exercise of equitable remedial authority.

The lower court’s decision can be found here.

[FOIA Advisor’s Ryan Mulvey filed an amicus brief in support of the Appellants and reversal. Read it here.]

FOIA News: EPA proposes to stop expediting requests concerning environmental justice

EPA will rescind its environmental justice–based expedited FOIA processing provision, as set forth in a proposed rule published today in the Federal Register. The proposal notes that expedited processing based on “compelling need” would remain available and that environmental justice–related requests would continue to be eligible for fee waivers.

Public comments will be accepted until February 26, 2026.

FOIA News: 2025 annual FOIA reports

Agencies are required to post their Fiscal Year 2025 Annual FOIA Report on their websites no later than March 1, 2026. Here are a few agencies that have gotten off to an early start. As in previous years, we will provide additional updates and summarize the reports issued by the more active FOIA agencies.

• Postal Regulatory Comm’n

• U.S. Comm’n on Civil Rights

• Advisory Council on Historic Preservation (received 140 requests; processed 13 requests)

• Chemical Safety & Hazard Investigations Bd.

• Court Services and Offender Supervision Agency

• Fed. Energy Regulatory Comm’n

• Inter-American Found.

• Nat’l Indian Gaming Comm’n

• Nat’l Mediation Bd.

• Office of Gov’t Ethics

• Privacy & Civil Liberties Bd.

• Selective Service Sys.

• U.S. Int’l Trade Comm’n

• U.S. Postal Serv.

FOIA News: Tax Notes launches FOIA newsletter

A new Freedom of Information Act newsletter, FOIA Findings, was launched in January to focus on how FOIA and open records laws can be used to illuminate tax policy and tax administration.

The newsletter is led by journalist Lauren Locricchio, who will oversee reporting and analysis rooted in documents obtained through FOIA and related disclosure laws. Each edition is designed to surface what agency records actually show—cutting through press releases and policy statements to highlight the evidence behind the decisions.

FOIA Findings is published by Tax Notes, a leading source of tax news and analysis founded in 1970. For more than five decades, Tax Notes has provided in-depth reporting and analysis for tax professionals, policymakers, academics, and journalists

Readers can subscribe to FOIA Findings on LinkedIn or through the Tax Notes website. You can find the newsletter here.