FOIA News: Software company opposes gov't-built request portal

The Government is Not a Software Company: Lessons Learned from the Sunsetting of FOIAOnline

OPEXUS, June 12, 2024

A proposal to revive FOIAOnline, a government-sponsored software solution for handling Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests, has sparked interest and debate within the FOIA community. While the concept of a centralized system to address the specific needs of the public sector seems promising, past experiences have revealed significant challenges and complexities. 

FOIAOnline, which was previously sponsored by the EPA, was decommissioned in 2023 after encountering numerous obstacles during its operation. One of the primary issues was its inability to effectively accommodate the diverse and ever-changing requirements of federal agencies while requiring ever-increasing IT resources to support it.  

Read more here.

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.

Jobs, jobs, jobs: Weekly report 6/10/24

Federal positions closing in the next 10 days

Gov’t Info. Specialist, Dep’t of the Treasury/BEP, GS 12-13, Washington, DC, closes 6/10/24 (non-public).

Gov’t Info. Specialist, Dep’t of the Treasury/IRS, GS 14, multiple locations, closes 6/10/24 (non-public).

Gov’t Info. Specialist, Dep’t of Justice/OJP, GS 12-13, Washington, DC, closes 6/11/24.

Gov’t Info. Specialist, Dep’t of Def./PFPA, GS 12-13, Arlington & Falls Church, VA, closes 6/12/24 (non-public).

Gov’t Info. Specialist, Dep’t of Health & Human Serv./CDC, GS 13, remote, closes 6/12/24 (non-public).

Gov’t Info. Specialist, Office of Personnel Mgmt., GS 11, Washington, DC, closes 6/13/24.

Gov’t Info. Specialist, Office of Personnel Mgmt., GS 11, Washington, DC, closes 6/13/24 (non-public).

Gov’t Info. Specialist, Dep’t of Labor, GS 13, location negotiable, closes 6/14/24.

Gov’t Info. Specialist, Dep’t of Labor, GS 13, location negotiable, closes 6/14/24 (non-public).

Gov’t Info. Specialist, Dep’t of Veterans Affairs/VHA, GS 9, Colorado Springs, CO, closes 6/14/24 (non-public).

Gov’t Info. Specialist, Dep’t of the Army, GS 7-9, Fort Campbell, KY, closes 6/17/24 (non-public).

Gov’t Info. Specialist, Dep’t of Health & Human Serv./CDC, GS 13, remote, closes 6/17/24 (non-public).

Gov’t Info. Specialist, Dep’t of Def./DHA, GS 7-9, Tripler Army Medical Center, HI, closes 6/18/24 (non-public).

Gov’t Info. Specialist, Dep’t of the Treasury/IRS, GS 13, nationwide locations, closes 6/20/24 (non-public).

Federal positions closing on or after June 21, 2024

Att’y-Advisor, Dep’t of Justice/OIP, GS 12-15, Washington, D.C, closes 6/27/24.

Court opinion issued June 7, 2024

Nat’l Sec. Archive v. CIA (D.C. Cir.) -- affirming district court’s district decision that the CIA properly invoked Exemption 1 to withhold a 1989 report drafted by Leonard Peroots concerning a 1983 nuclear crisis with the Soviet Union; rejecting plaintiff’s argument that the CIA was precluded from withholding the memo because the State Department previously published a version of the memo with the CIA’s blessing.

Summaries of all published opinions issued in 2024 are available here. Earlier opinions are available here.

Court opinions issued June 6, 2024

Proj. for Privacy & Surveillance Accountability v. DOJ (D.D.C.) -- deciding that FBI properly relied on Exemption 3 in conjunction with the National Security Act of 1947, as well as Exemptions 7(D) and 7(E), to partially redact its “Intelligence Program Policy Guide” and an email summarizing counterterrorism investigations.

Williams v. DOJ (D.D.C.) -- ruling that: (1) U.S. Marshals Service properly relied on Exemption 7(C) in refusing to confirm or deny the existence of certain third-party information relating to plaintiff’s criminal case; and (2) USMS performed adequate search for certain records the agency did not locate pertaining to plaintiff’s criminal case.

Summaries of all published opinions issued in 2024 are available here. Earlier opinions are available here.