FOIA News: DOJ's "deepfake" argument is problematic, opines R Street on Hur-Biden audio

Potential for AI Deepfakes Tomorrow Does Not Justify Government Secrecy Today

By Chris McIsaac, R Street Inst., June 13, 2024

Amid an ongoing legal dispute over the public’s right to hear audio recordings of an interview federal investigators conducted with President Joe Biden last year, the administration is pushing a novel theory to support their position that the tapes should be kept secret: fears the recordings could be used to create an artificial intelligence (AI) deepfake. The Department of Justice (DOJ) made this argument as part of a May court filing, and while it does not represent the only rationale for withholding the audio, this line of thinking raises serious concerns around future efforts to shield government records from public disclosure in the age of AI.

Read more here.

FOIA News: FOIA Advisory Committee approves final report & recommendations

The FOIA Advisory Committee unanimously approved—by an 18-0 vote—its final report and sixteen recommendations in its last meeting of the 2022-2024 term held on June 13, 2024. The U.S. Department of Justice, which typically abstains in votes on individual recommendations, voted in favor of the final report. The Committee’s final report, meeting minutes, and meeting transcript will be made available on the OGIS website here.

FOIA News: Reminder of FOIA Advisory Committee meeting

The FOIA Advisory Committee will hold its last meeting of the 2022-2024 term tomorrow, June 13, 2024, at 10am ET. Meeting materials and a livestream link are available here.

FOIA News: IRS defends use of biometric verification for online FOIA filers

IRS defends use of biometric verification for online FOIA filers

By Rebecca Heilweil, FedScoop, June 10, 2024

A few years ago, the Internal Revenue Service announced that it had begun using the identity credential service ID.me for taxpayers to access various online tools. At some point between then and now, the IRS quietly began directing people filing public records requests through its online portal to register for the private biometric verification system.

Though Freedom of Information Act requests to the tax agency can still be filed through FOIA.gov, the mail, by fax, or even in person, the IRS’s decision to point online filers to ID.me — whose facial verification technology has, in the past, drawn scrutiny from Congress — has raised some advocates’ eyebrows.

Read more here.

FOIA News: FOIA Advisory Committee's final report posted for public comment

2022-2024 FOIA Advisory Committee Draft Final Report Available for Public Comment

By Kimberlee N, Ried, FOIA Ombudsman, June 10, 2024

The draft final report of the fifth term of the FOIA Advisory Committee is now available for public comment. The report includes 16 recommendations from the three subcommittees — Implementation, Modernization, and Resources  — all previously approved by the Committee. The Committee will consider and vote on the draft report at its June 13, 2024, meeting, the final of the 2022-2024 term. 

Read more here.

FOIA News: OMB finalizes updates to FOIA regulations

The U.S. Office of Management and Budget has finalized its FOIA regulations following a notice-and-comment period, per a final rule published in the Federal Register on June 10, 2024. The rule is effective on July 10, 2024.

FOIA News: FBI releases 475 pages on O.J. Simpson

FBI releases documents on O.J. Simpson

Michael Rothstein, ESPN, June 7, 2024

The Federal Bureau of Investigation has released 475 pages of documents relating to O.J. Simpson, the NFL Hall of Fame running back who was acquitted of charges he killed his former wife and her friend.

The documents largely focus on the murder investigation into the 1994 stabbing deaths of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman. Simpson was a person of interest and ultimately charged, and his 1995 trial, often called one of the most famous trials of the past century, drew worldwide attention and spectacle.

Read more here.

FOIA News: DOJ posts summary of annual reports for FY 2023

Summary of Fiscal Year 2023 Annual FOIA Reports Published

DOJ/OIP, FOIA Post, June 7, 2024

The Office of Information Policy (OIP) has released its Summary of Annual FOIA Reports for Fiscal Year (FY) 2023.  This summary provides an overview of FOIA activities across the government during the previous fiscal year, looks at key statistics in FOIA administration, and identifies trends in FOIA processing.  Each summary serves as a resource for both agencies and the public to gain an understanding of overall FOIA administration.

As highlighted in this year's summary, the government received 1,199,699 requests during FY 2023 – the highest number of requests ever received and the first time over one million requests were received in a single year. 

Read more here.

FOIA News: Nominations sought for FOIA Advisory Commitee

The Office of Government Information Services is seeking nominees to serve on the federal FOIA Advisory Committee for the 2024-2026 term, per a notice published in the Federal Register on June 6, 2024. The deadline for applications is July 15, 2024, at 5:00 pm ET. See the aforementioned notice for more details. The final meeting of the Committe’s 2022-2024 term will take place on June 13, 2024.

FOIA News: Audio of Biden interview exempt on privacy and other grounds, asserts DOJ in court filing

DOJ fears AI tampering with Biden-Hur audio

The department, in a court filing late Friday night, warned that releasing the audio could lead to it being “improperly altered.”

By Jordain Carney, Politico, June 1, 2024

The Justice Department is seizing on an increasingly common fear as it fights to prevent the release of the audio of President Joe Biden’s interview with former special counsel Robert Hur: It could spawn deepfakes.

The concern — raised as part of an overnight court filing late Friday — is the latest step in a multi-pronged legal battle aimed at forcing the Justice Department to release the audio, which Biden claimed executive privilege over last month.

“The passage of time and advancements in audio, artificial intelligence, and ‘deep fake’ technologies only amplify concerns about malicious manipulation of audio files. If the audio recording is released here, it is easy to foresee that it could be improperly altered, and that the altered file could be passed off as an authentic recording and widely distributed,” the department wrote in a 49-page filing.

Read more here.