Difference between revisions of "Freedom of Information policies"
| Line 26: | Line 26: | ||
==Open Ethical Questions== | ==Open Ethical Questions== | ||
| − | The biggest ethical conflict | + | The biggest ethical conflict regarding FOIA requests and Freedom of Information Policy is determining the necessary circumstances for rejecting a request. While at the surface there may appear to be clear cut reasons for exempting certain information, any exempting circumstance has the potential for abuse. Using the 9 exemptions the United States uses above we can see that some of the exemptions appear to be more understandable than others. Exemption 6, which deals with revealing another individual private information, is a very reasonable reason to reject. Many citizens would be concerned if anyone could file an FOIA request to the IRS for your personal income information. However, even this exemption is full of ambiguity. What information rises to the standard of violating an individual's privacy? Especially when that individual is not consulted in the process. Information that a federal agency might view as innocuous, could be very damaging in someone else's eyes. |
===National Security Exemption=== | ===National Security Exemption=== | ||
Revision as of 19:07, 23 March 2019
Freedom of Information policies also known as open record laws, let individuals request and gain access to data and information held by governments and other large institutions. Many of these current policies and laws arose out of human rights treaties after World War II and exist in some capacity in a majority of countries. [1] These policies and laws spell out who can request and who must provide information as well as restrictions and exemptions that can cause a request to be rejected. Lastly, they tend to also spell out the legal process used to contest a rejection.
Contents
Introduction
The concept of freedom of information originates from enlightenment beliefs regarding the rule of law. The movement believed that science could make everything knowable and access to that knowledge was a human right. These ideas lead to the first freedom of information policy from Sweden in 1766. As well as giving freedom of information policies direct mention in France's The Declarations of Rights of Man. However it was incentives provided by international organizations after World War II that lead to many of the current policies we see today.[1] As of 2016, 111 different countries had some form of Freedom of Information policy.[2] These policies govern data held by national governments and other public sector actors. These policies do not apply to any private company or actor, meaning any data held by government contractors or other groups that work with the government are not subject to requests from the public, unless specifically mentioned by the laws of the jurisdiction. Freedom of information policy is more than just a focus on making records accessible after the fact. These policies often encourage open meetings and hearings that are announced far in advance so that the public may attend. Such actions raise faith in the governing processes and help fight against complaints of secrecy and back-room dealing.
United States Freedom of Information Act
The Freedom of Information Act (5 U.S.C. § 552), commonly abbreviated to FOIA, is the main Freedom of Information policy in the United States of America. It was signed into law on July 4, 1966, by President Lyndon Johnson. The law only applies to the United States Federal Government, and explicitly only refers to documents and data controlled by the executive branch. It mandates these executive branch agencies to respond to all public requests for information, providing only 9 exemptions which they may site, in order to reject a request.
FOIA Exemptions
An agency must cite at least one of these 9 exemptions to reject a valid FOIA request.[3]
- The requested information cannot be shared due to national security.[3]
- The requested information is only about personnel rules and practices.[3]
- Another federal law prevents the requested information from being disclosed.[3]
- The requested information contains trade secrets or other confidential or priviledged information.[3]
- Priviledged communications within or between agencies, such as communication protected by Attorney-Client Priviledge[3]
- The requested information invades another private individual's privacy if disclosed.[3]
- The requested information could interfear with an investigation, law enforment proceeding, right to fair trail or simmilar situation.[3]
- The requested information is regarding the supervision of financial institutions.[3]
- The requested information is regarding geological information on wells.[3]
While numbers vary depending on the presiding administration, the vast majority of FOIA requests are typically rejected, at times up to 77% of all requests.[4]
Open Ethical Questions
The biggest ethical conflict regarding FOIA requests and Freedom of Information Policy is determining the necessary circumstances for rejecting a request. While at the surface there may appear to be clear cut reasons for exempting certain information, any exempting circumstance has the potential for abuse. Using the 9 exemptions the United States uses above we can see that some of the exemptions appear to be more understandable than others. Exemption 6, which deals with revealing another individual private information, is a very reasonable reason to reject. Many citizens would be concerned if anyone could file an FOIA request to the IRS for your personal income information. However, even this exemption is full of ambiguity. What information rises to the standard of violating an individual's privacy? Especially when that individual is not consulted in the process. Information that a federal agency might view as innocuous, could be very damaging in someone else's eyes.
National Security Exemption
The most controversial and widely debated exemption that is present almost every freedom of information policy applying to a federal government is the ability to deny a request due to national security concerns. Traditionally, judicial bodies have given wide deference to an executive's ability to determine what is considered a threat to national security, and therefore these denials are the most difficult to overturn if a method of appeal is available. While in general information must be classified in order to be exempted under this reasoning, the ability for a government to classify any information, whether truly realted to national security or not, is essentially unchecked.
