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Is The DOJ Using Obsolete Software To Subvert FOIA Requests? (theguardian.com)

Posted by EditorDavid on from the failure-by-design dept.

"A new lawsuit alleges that the U.S. Department of Justice intentionally conducts inadequate searches of its records using a decades-old computer system when queried by citizens looking for records that should be available to the public," reports The Guardian. Slashdot reader Bruce66423 writes: An MIT PhD student has filed a suit in Federal court alleging that the use of a 21-year-old, IBM green screen controlled search software to search the Department of Justice databases...constitutes a deliberate failure to provide the data that should be being produced.
Ryan Shapiro's lawsuit alleges "failure by design," saying that the Justice Department records are inadequately indexed -- and that they fail to search the full text of their records when responding to requests "When few or no records are returned, Shapiro said, the FBI effectively responds 'sorry, we tried' without making use of the much more sophisticated search tools at the disposal of internal requestors." The FBI has a $425 million software system to handle FOIA requests, but refuses to use it, saying that would be "needlessly duplicative...and wasteful of Bureau resources."

6 of 85 comments (clear)

  1. Re:intent or consequence? by drinkypoo · · Score: 5, Insightful

    When the Federal government is invloved, don't blame on intentional malice that which can be explained by consequences of Republican budget cuts.

    No. This is wrong. They already have the tools to do better. They simply refuse to use them. If they had to buy some new software, you'd have a point. They don't, so you don't.

    --
    "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
  2. Not a surprise- by dfenstrate · · Score: 4, Insightful

    The DoJ is one of many departments these days that are run for the benefit of the of the administration, not to serve justice or even the American people.

    --
    Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms should be the name of a store, not a government agency.
  3. Clever Grad Student by ZipK · · Score: 4, Interesting

    By requesting a search that should have netted his own earlier FOIA requests, and didn't, Ryan Shapiro was able to demonstrate the inadequacy of the index-term search the FBI is using. Clever.

    1. Re:Clever Grad Student by BlueStrat · · Score: 4, Insightful

      By requesting a search that should have netted his own earlier FOIA requests, and didn't, Ryan Shapiro was able to demonstrate the inadequacy of the index-term search the FBI is using. Clever.

      He'd better hope they don't decide to make an example of him and charge him under CFAA or some other law, regulation, or Act for exposing the inadequacy of a government computer system or something along those lines. It wouldn't even matter if they knew beforehand that they couldn't get a conviction, the process is the punishment.

      The Rule of Law is dead in the US. The "law" now depends on who you are, who you know (and what you know about them), and how much money and power you have.

      Strat

      --
      Progressivism (aka US 'Liberalism'): Ideas so good they need a police/surveillance-state to enforce.
  4. Re:intent or consequence? by beelsebob · · Score: 4, Informative

    Political flamebait works both ways. The other side of the coin is that Democrats set up overly complicated systems that can't work without an ever-increasing price tag, then complain (loudly) that they just aren't getting the support they need.

    The problem is that that assertion doesn't line up with reality. Go down to your DMV some time, and observe the kinds of systems that they're using. They're using databases built in the 80s and 90s on top of DOS, running on ancient computers with CRT monitors (at least around here).

    What reasonable business do you know of that hasn't upgraded their systems since that time to allow for more efficiency savings, faster processing, reduced staff costs etc?

    There's a lack of investment in this kind of system, plain and simple, being disguised as "government efficiency" by the republicans.

  5. The Guardian again ... by swell · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Frequent posts from The Guardian and BBC cover important events in the US that local media fail to report. This should make us wonder why American news media aren't on top of these stories.

    Of course tight budgets constrain many traditional news outlets and restrict the ability to really investigate anything. The de-funding of Public Broadcasting was a disaster in American history, forcing a dependence on advertising and fund raising.

    But those of us who entertain conspiracy theories may suspect that the 'free press' in the US is heavily influenced by various pressures from government and advertisers. For instance, many media are now forbidden at Trump rallies because they have offended The Donald by asking serious questions. Some media are unwelcome at White House briefings. Your local city/state politicians also have preferred, cooperative, outlets for their announcements. Cooperation with big advertisers is also important for American media to survive financially. Evil Monsanto stories go on page 3 or nowhere at all.

    Most US publishers share with their readers the political posturing of government officials and the promotional 'news' of advertisers but fail to investigate anything. The remainder of US news is crime, weather, celebrities, a smattering of drama about terrorist activity, and no mention of large parts of the world like Latin America.

    So, thanks Guardian and BBC, for a fresh look at the world and my own country.

    --
    ...omphaloskepsis often...