Brief #10 | Freedom of Information Act

Freedom of Information Act

 The Freedom of Information Act “generally provides that any person has the right to request access to federal agency records or information except to the extent the records are protected from disclosure by any of nine exemptions contained in the law or by one of three special law enforcement record exclusions.” I know that was a long sentence but hang with me for a second. 

When broken down it is a lot easier to digest. In vernacular terms, the government can not hide its records unless it is exempt by one or more of the 9 categories. Below, I will list the nine exemptions in which citizens cannot ask for federal records or information. 
 
The first exemption is that the information is classified to protect national security. This information usually pertains to foreign policies. The second exemption protects any information related solely to the internal personnel rules and practices of an agency. So, the way businesses run, such as their hiring practices, staff training, records, etc. are protected. 

 
The third exemption is any information that is prohibited from disclosure by another federal law. For example, records protected by HIPAA or the Privacy Act of 1974. The fourth exemption is trade secrets and confidential business information. Insider trading isn’t something new, which is why it is important to protect that information from people who will use that information unfairly to gain. Just recently, Domino’s Pizza's former accountant was penalized $2 million for insider training. 

 
The fifth exemption is “privileged communications within or between agencies.” This was one of the harder exemptions for me to comprehend, but basically, some privileges were created to protect cases in the court of law. The first is Deliberative Process Privilege which is the thoughtful review of whether or not certain information is to remain private when in a court of law. The other two privileges pertain to the attorney, the first is Attorney-Work Product Privilege and Attorney-Client Privilege. This means attorneys can protect their work and their clients.  
 
Exemption six is one of the simple ones, it states that it protects the information, if disclosed, would invade another individual’s privacy. The next exemption is one of the longer ones, but a very important one. Information that has been compiled for law enforcement purposes is exempt and kept private until the case is either closed or information is no longer relevant. The seventh exemption has a lot of stipulations. They are:

• 7(A). Could reasonably be expected to interfere with enforcement proceedings

• 7(B). Would deprive a person of a right to a fair trial or an impartial adjudication

• 7(C). Could reasonably be expected to constitute an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy

• 7(D). Could reasonably be expected to disclose the identity of a confidential source

• 7(E). Would disclose techniques and procedures for law enforcement investigations or prosecutions, or would disclose guidelines for law enforcement investigations or prosecutions if such disclosure could reasonably be expected to risk circumvention of the law

• 7(F). Could reasonably be expected to endanger the life or physical safety of any individual

The ninth exemption has to do with any information that involves financial institutions. Such as financial and bank records. And the last exception protects information about geological, geophysical, and anything related to land information. The Freedom of Information Act is really important when it comes to protecting citizens and it is important to know your rights. As a citizen of America, a lot of our privacy is protected and that is something we all should not take for granted.