Freedom of Information Act

A recent — and somewhat frustrating — experience with a FOIA request prompted us to take a closer look at how the Act is being implemented. As background, FOIA was enacted in 1966 to provide transparency into governmental actions and to promote accountability for those actions. The Act has been amended several times in the past 30 years, most recently in 2016. The FOIA Improvement Act of 2016, which was passed by Congress, codified a "presumption of openness." As amended, FOIA now provides that an agency may withhold information in response to a FOIA request only if it reasonably foresees...