FOIA News: CoA Institute Uncovers EPA Investigation into Employees’ Use of Encrypted Messaging App

CoA Institute Uncovers EPA Investigation into Employees’ Use of Encrypted Messaging App

Cause of Action Institute, Mar. 23, 2017

Hours after filing a lawsuit demanding that the Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) disclose records about its employees’ use of an encrypted messaging application, Cause of Action Institute (“CoA Institute”) received a letter from the EPA’s Office of General Counsel acknowledging that there is an “open law enforcement” investigation looking into the matter.

The EPA indicated that records created or received by its employees on “Signal,” and records concerning efforts “to retrieve, recover, or retain” those messages, were “part of one or more open law enforcement file(s).” The agency claimed such records were exempt from disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act (“FOIA”) because they were compiled for “law enforcement purposes” and their disclosure “could reasonably be expected to interfere with ongoing enforcement proceedings.”  Further, the EPA stated that it could not find any records reflecting “permission, clearance, or approval” for the use of the encrypted messaging app.

Read more here.

FOIA News: House holds transparency hearing today

The House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform will hold a hearing this morning at 9am to consider "Legislative Proposal for Fostering Transparency."   The witnesses are all from outside the government and include the Competitive Enterprise Institute, Judicial Watch, Campaign for Liberty, The Data Coalition, and Professor Richard Painter.  

FOIA News: FOIA March Madness 2017 - Round Two

FOIA March Madness 2017: Round Two Begins

Beryl Lipton, MuckRock, Mar. 22, 2017

We’re one week into our annual competition for Fastest FOIA Agency, and MuckRock’s March Madness is beset with upsets and outliers. Finishing up the first round this past weekend (March 19), we’ve already seen a lot of solid moves this week, so be sure to check back in next Tuesday to find out whether Round Two is where we see a contender with a clear competitive edge.

Read more here.

FOIA News: Secret Service to Strengthen FOIA Program

United States Secret Service Reports Steps to Strengthen FOIA Program

Nat'l Archives & Records Admin., The FOIA Ombudsman, Mar. 22, 2017

In late February, the United States Secret Service (USSS) FOIA sent us a letter responding to the 12 recommendations we made in our compliance assessment report of their FOIA program. In the letter, USSS reports that they concur with each of our recommendations and explain the steps that are underway to strengthen the FOIA program and improve FOIA compliance.

Read more here.

Court opinion issued Mar. 21, 2017

Cohens v. FBI (N.D. Cal.) -- dismissing pro se prisoner's complaint (with leave to amend) because it failed to allege that plaintiff "made a request to the FBI, that a request was denied, or that records were improperly withheld."

Summaries of all opinions issued since April 2015 available here.

FOIA News: Notice of FOIA Advisory Committee Meeting

The National Archives and Records Administration's Office of Government Information Services published a notice in today's issue of the Federal Register announcing the next scheduled meeting of the Freedom of Information Act Advisory Committee.  The meeting will be held on April 20, 2017, from 10:00am to 1:00pm EDT.  You must pre-register to attend before April 18, 2017.  The notice and further detail are available here.

Court opinions issued Mar. 20, 2017

McCash v. CIA (N.D. Cal.) --  finding that FBI properly relied upon Exemption 7(E) to withhold records showing how agency uses an investigative database.

Judicial Watch v. U.S. Dep't of State (D.D.C.) -- ruling that State Department improperly relied upon deliberative process privilege to withhold factual summaries within two documents concerning  September 11, 2012 attack on the United States Consulate in Benghazi, Libya.

Summaries of all opinions issued since April 2015 available here.

FOIA News: NASA blocks FOIA request for potential White House ‘media blackout’ orders

NASA blocks FOIA request for potential White House ‘media blackout’ orders

By Dell Cameron, Daily Dot, Mar. 21, 2017

Users of a popular online service that helps the public acquire legal access to government records face new hurdles when petitioning NASA under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).

The National Aeronautics Space Administration has begun rejecting public records requests from users of FOIA request-filing service MuckRock, who don’t provide what the agency calls a “personal mailing address,” even though the requirement appears to have no basis under the law.

MuckRock, founded in 2010, has helped its members (including the Daily Dot) file more than 28,000 FOIA requests at federal, state, and local agencies. Its staff also frequently publishes articles based on government records they uncover through FOIA. On Tuesday, for example, MuckRock released a batch emails from the Office of Government Ethics, revealing the agency’s frustrations after failed attempts to communicate with the Trump transition team in an effort to stem potential conflicts of interest.

Read more here.

FOIA News: DHS Report Shows FOIA Requests, Backlog Rising

DHS Report Shows FOIA Requests, Backlog Rising

By Kelcee Griffis, Law360, Mar. 21, 2017

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s backlog of unprocessed Freedom of Information Act requests continued to grow during 2016, driven largely by an avalanche of individual immigration-related requests, a new report released on Monday indicates.

In an annual report released on Monday, DHS said it received about 16 percent more FOIA requests in 2016 than in the previous fiscal year, raising the amount of unprocessed requests from 35,374 in fiscal year 2015 to more than 46,788 in fiscal 2016.

Read more here. (subscription)

FOIA News: Chief FOIA Officers Reports

Agencies Began Posting Their 2017 Chief FOIA Officer Reports During Sunshine Week

Dep't of Justice, Office of Info. Pol'y, Mar. 21, 2017

Over the course of Sunshine Week last week, agencies across the government began posting their 2017 Chief FOIA Officer Reports. For anyone unfamiliar with these reports, they’re annual narratives on agencies’ efforts to improve the administration of the FOIA at their agencies in five key areas: applying the presumption of openness; ensuring that there are effective systems in place for responding to requests; increasing proactive disclosures; increasing the utilization of technology; and improving timeliness and reducing backlogs.

Read more here.