FOIA News: NY Times on the death of Russ Kick

Russ Kick, ‘Rogue Transparency Activist,’ Is Dead at 52

Working on his own, he used the Freedom of Information Act to publish suppressed documents, sometimes making front-page news.

By Katherine Q. Seelye, NY Times, Oct. 14, 2021

On the eve of the American-led invasion of Iraq in March 2003, the Pentagon banned media coverage of the return of the remains of dead soldiers to Dover Air Force Base in Delaware.

By November, as the death toll rose, Russ Kick, a self-taught expert at digging up information, filed a request under the Freedom of Information Act for all the images of coffins arriving at Dover since the war began.

Read more here.

FOIA News: D.C. Circuit hears FOIA argument

The United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit heard oral argument on Wednesday in Electronic Privacy Info. Ctr. v. DOJ, No. 20-5364, which concerns access to portions of the Mueller Report that discuss the special counsel’s reasons for not charging certain individuals.

FOIA News: Should Company Diversity Data be Protected under Ex. 4?

Op-Ed: Corporation Claims Diversity Data Is Secret. That’s A Problem for Journalism––and Democracy

By Victoria Baranetsky & Shawn Musgrave. Columbia Journalism Rev., Oct. 12, 2021

EARLIER THIS YEAR, Synopsys, Inc., a Silicon Valley-based technology company and federal contractor that produces computer chips and software, published its demographic diversity data on its website. The company’s “talent snapshot” for 2020 showed that just 1 percent of its overall employees in the United States were Black, 3 percent were Hispanic/Latinx, and just 23 percent of its global employees were women. That same company now claims in federal court that the raw numbers underneath these public percentages are a trade secret and thus exempt from government disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).

Read more here.

FOIA News: Technology Committee Publishes Paper on FOIA Searches

Technology Committee Publishes Paper on FOIA Searches

By Kirsten Mitchell, The FOIA Ombudsman, Oct. 8. 2021

There is a wide gap in public understanding of agencies’ abilities to search their electronic archives and databases for records responsive to FOIA requests and the reality of agencies’ capabilities, according to a new paper, “FOIA Searches: Key Challenges and Findings,” published by a working group of the Chief FOIA Officers Council’s Technology Committee. 

Other key findings of the FOIA Searches working group are that the strategies and tools federal agencies use to conduct searches vary greatly, and email searches remain a challenge for agencies. 

The paper also provides tips for requesters including searching FOIA Libraries and the web before submitting a FOIA request which could either negate the need for a request or help develop and scope a new one. 

Read more here.

P.S. See also DOJ/OIP’s October 1st article on FOIA Post.

FOIA News: "Saving the Freedom of Information Act"

University of Denver professor Margaret Kwoka has authored a new book entitled “Saving the Freedom of Information Act,” in which Professor Kwoka “proposes a series of structural solutions aimed at shrinking FOIA to re-center its oversight purposes.”

The National Archives and Records Administration will be airing a discussion about the book on its YouTube channel on November 18, 2021.

FOIA News: Commentary on D.C. Circuit’s research data decision

DC Circ.'s Exploratory Data Ruling Is A Win For Transparency

By Lawrence Ebner & David Kanter, Law 360, Oct. 5, 2021

When scientists employed by universities, nonprofit institutes or corporations publish scientific studies, they routinely make their underlying research data available to peer reviewers and anyone else who is interested. A recent U. S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit decision, Pavement Coatings Technology Council v. United States Geological Survey, confirms that federal government scientists should be no different. They cannot shield their published work from professional, industry or public criticism by invoking Freedom of Information Act Exemption 5 — the deliberative process privilege — as a reason for refusing to disclose their exploratory research data.

Read more here (accessible with free trial subscription).

FOIA News: OIP updates reporting guidance and deadlines

ANNOUNCING UPDATED QUARTERLY AND ANNUAL FOIA REPORTING GUIDANCE AND DEADLINES

By DOJ/OIP, FOIA Post, Oct. 4, 2021

Today, the Office of Information Policy (OIP) posted updated guidance pertaining to Quarterly and Annual Reports, along with deadlines for the submission of agencies' Fiscal Year 2021 Annual FOIA Reports, Fiscal Year 2022 Quarterly FOIA Reports, and 2022 Chief FOIA Officer Reports.  These three reports serve a vital role in illustrating the steps taken and the progress made by agencies in administering the FOIA, and provide valuable information about how agencies promote efficiency, make more information available proactively, and use technology to improve FOIA administration.

Read more here.

FOIA News: FOIA Officer Council issues white paper on FOIA searches

By Eric White, Fed. News Network, Oct. 4, 2021

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Agency Freedom of Information Act offices said email searches remain a challenge keeping up with the volume of FOIA requests. The FOIA Officer Council’s Technology Committee, in a recent white paper, finds a wide variety of tools and strategies agencies use to conduct FOIA searches. The report also finds a major gap between public expectations for FOIA requests, and how quickly agencies can search their records.

FOIA News: OIP issues guidance for 2022 CFO reports

NEW 2022 CHIEF FOIA OFFICER REPORT GUIDELINES NOW AVAILABLE

By DOJ/OIP, FOIA Post, Sept. 30, 2021

The FOIA requires agency Chief FOIA Officers to report to the Attorney General on their performance in implementing the law.  Accordingly, since 2009, the Department of Justice has directed agency Chief FOIA Officers to “review all aspects of their agencies’ FOIA administration” and to report annually to the Department of Justice on the efforts undertaken “to improve FOIA operations and facilitate information disclosure at their agencies.”  Every year, OIP provides specific guidance to agencies on the content and timing of agency Chief FOIA Officer Reports and today we have issued the guidelines for agency 2022 Chief FOIA Officer Reports.

Read more here.

FOIA News: OIP Announces Upcoming FOIA Trainings for Federal Government Employees

OIP ANNOUNCES FOIA TRAININGS FOR FISCAL YEAR 2022

September 29, 2021

Today, the Office of Information Policy (OIP) announces new dates for FOIA training during the beginning of Fiscal Year 2022.  As part of its responsibility to encourage agency compliance with the FOIA, OIP offers a number of training opportunities throughout the year for agency FOIA professionals and individuals with FOIA responsibilities.  These courses have been designed to offer training opportunities for personnel from all stages of the FOIA workforce, from new hires to the experienced FOIA professionals or FOIA managers. Due to COVID-19 and physical distancing precautions, OIP will continue to offer virtual training sessions that will be taught in real-time by OIP instructors.  We will announce more training opportunities for the spring at a later date.  As Fiscal Year 2022 quickly approaches, we are pleased to announce these virtual training courses, which are also available on OIP’s Eventbrite page.

The courses and dates scheduled so far for Fiscal Year 2022 are:

Virtual Annual FOIA Report Refresher and Quarterly Report Training
October 5, 2021

Virtual Chief FOIA Officer Report Refresher Training
October 19, 2021

Virtual Introduction to the Freedom of Information Act
November 9, 2021

Virtual Freedom of Information Act Litigation Seminar
November 10, 2021

Virtual Procedural Requirements and Fees Training
December 7, 2021

Virtual Exemption 1 and Exemption 7 Training
January 11, 2022

Virtual Exemption 4 and Exemption 5 Training
January 18, 2022

Virtual Privacy Considerations Training
January 20, 2022

Virtual Advanced Freedom of Information Act Training
February 2, 2022

Training courses are open to all federal government employees.  Descriptions of each course are available on Eventbrite and the Training page of OIP's site.  OIP manages all training registration through Eventbrite.  Registration will open one month prior to the date of the training.  Once the registration period begins, you may register by providing your name and email address on OIP’s Eventbrite page for that course.  Each attendee must register separately using their own government email address.  Please note that these training sessions are open to government personnel and contractors only.  Once you are registered, you will be sent a confirmation email from Eventbrite. 

OIP is also always available to provide individualized training sessions to any interested agency, which can be tailored to fit training needs.

For questions or more information regarding any of OIP’s training opportunities, please contact OIP’s Training Coordinator at DOJ.OIP.FOIA@usdoj.gov.

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The above blog post can be found in its original form here.