Slashdot Mirror
Getting Your Government Files Via the FOIA
An anonymous reader writes "The Bad Guys blog is marking America's third annual Sunshine Week: 'a national effort to cast light onto the growing recesses of government secrecy'. US News is offering up the latest information on the Freedom of Information Act, with links to filing FOI requests to US states, the federal government, and 67 other countries. 'Often the records can be obtained by simply asking for them, but since 9/11, federal agencies have grown increasingly stubborn about what they release. A just-released survey by the National Security Archive found that only 1 in 5 federal agencies meets congressionally mandated requirements for online information access. There's hope, though: A new bill is making its way through the House of Representatives, with bipartisan backing, that would strengthen the FOIA, one of a host of open government measures being looked at by the new Congress.'"
Don't worry. I'm sure that just making an FOIA request will fatten up your file quickly.
Prison!? That is too harsh, just make it a stiff fine, but payable to the person wrongly reported or surveiled.
Kindness is the language which the deaf can hear and the blind can see. - Mark Twain
I would suggest that using FOIA (Freedom of Information Act) to get "your government files" from the Federal government is not the way to go. FOIA only applies to information that is public--e.g., how many civilian employees does the Energy Department have or what is the budget for paper clips in the division of widget design. FOIA does not apply to most personal information. You are much more likely to get information about yourself which is maintained by the Federal government by filing a request under the Privacy Act. There are many exceptions to what has to be disclosed under the Privacy Act; but, as a former Federal FOIA & Privacy Act officer, let me tell you that there are many more exceptions under FOIA--one of them being information whose disclosure would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of privacy. If you really want to file under FOIA, then include mention of the Privacy Act too or you may be surprised how little information get.