FOIA Isn't Being Used the Way You Think It Is
"On the Media," WNYC, Mar. 31, 2017 (Audio)
The Freedom of Information Act, enacted in 1967 to make federal records accessible to the public, has widely been known as a means for journalists to obtain government data and demand accountability.
But a new study by data analyst Max Galka for FOIA Mapper shows that the majority of FOIA requests aren't made by journalists -- in fact, journalists only account for 7.6% of the requests. Bob talks to him about how FOIA is used by businesses, law firms, and even political party organizations to use government data for their own profit.
Listen here.