Freedom of Information Act

A website called HaveIBeenFlocked allows drivers to audit whether their license plates were searched by Flock surveillance cameras using public records derived from FOIA requests. The system's existence has fueled controversy regarding potential misuse of the technology by law enforcement, including personal tracking incidents. In response, Flock CEO Garrett Langley announced changes to the system, including a tool designed to flag abnormal search behavior.

Filing Freedom of Information Act requests has become an increasingly difficult and chaotic process at agencies like OPM following staff cuts by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency in early 2025. This reduction in information specialists has caused massive backlogs, with the average processing time for simple requests more than doubling. The author notes that routine document requests now involve navigating abandoned email inboxes and changing web portals.

The Michigan Department of State provided redacted records in response to a Republican National Committee Freedom of Information Act request for personal information of potential poll workers. The response excluded private details to protect election workers' privacy and safety, as part of ongoing Republican efforts to influence Michigan's elections.

Documents reveal the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has shared passengers' personal information with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) since May 2025, contradicting prior congressional testimony. A government watchdog group obtained the records through a Freedom of Information Act request, highlighting concerns about privacy and potential misuse of data for immigration enforcement.

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has been sharing passengers' personal information with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) through a formal data-sharing agreement since May 2025, according to documents obtained by American Oversight. The agreement contradicts prior TSA official testimony denying data collection for immigration enforcement and has raised concerns about privacy and civil liberties.

The Transportation Security Administration has formally shared passengers' personal information with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement since May 2025, contradicting a TSA official's congressional testimony denying such data collection for immigration enforcement. The agreement allows ICE to access passenger data for enforcement actions against noncitizens with immigration violations, raising privacy concerns.

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has been sharing airline passengers' personal information with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) since May 2025 under a formal agreement, according to documents obtained by the watchdog group American Oversight. The agreement contradicts a TSA official's congressional testimony that passenger data was not collected for immigration enforcement.

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has been sharing passengers' personal information with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) under a formal data-sharing agreement since May 2025, according to documents obtained by the watchdog group American Oversight. The agreement contradicts a TSA official's earlier congressional testimony denying such data collection for immigration enforcement.

Coinbase settled a FOIA lawsuit with the SEC, which admitted destroying nearly a year of texts from former Chair Gary Gensler during a critical period in crypto regulation. The SEC agreed to pay $150,000 and improve record-retention policies. Coinbase argued the agency violated its own rules by failing to preserve communications related to crypto enforcement actions.

Mike Cox has sued Jocelyn Benson over a FOIA request seeking records related to her past involvement with the Southern Poverty Law Center. The lawsuit alleges her office failed to provide the requested records despite a $5,000 deposit and over 11 weeks since the request was submitted. Benson's campaign dismissed the lawsuit as a politically motivated attack.

Amazon Web Services faces a lawsuit alleging it made false and misleading claims about water use and sustainability in Northern Virginia datacenters. The plaintiff, Dr. Nathan Wangusi, a former AWS water sustainability program manager, used FOIA requests to obtain data showing discrepancies between AWS's public water consumption figures and internal records. The lawsuit criticizes AWS for not disclosing methodology, comparison periods, or inclusion of third-party colocation facilities in its sustainability claims.

A federal judge in San Francisco denied a UC Berkeley law professor's motion to compel U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to release 14 years of detention and deportation data under a preliminary injunction. The judge cited a lack of imminent, irreparable harm from the delay in obtaining the data, which the professor sought to use for public accountability and research on ICE enforcement practices.

The German government plans to amend the Freedom of Information Act. Critics argue this could eliminate the government's duty to disclose information.

A gay rights activist is suing the U.S. Department of Defense to obtain a copy of its agreement with Scouting America, alleging conflicting claims about whether the organization agreed to ban transgender members. The Pentagon and Scouting America have provided differing accounts, with the latter stating its policy on transgender youth remains unchanged.

Governor Tim Walz accuses the Trump administration of a coordinated retribution campaign against Minnesota through lawsuits, funding threats, and investigations. His office filed 16 FOIA requests to uncover federal communications referencing Minnesota and related terms. A federal judge recently blocked DOJ subpoenas targeting state officials, calling them 'blatantly unlawful.'

A ruling determined that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) improperly ignored FOIA requests from an arrestee. The article directs readers to the ruling for further details.

A University of California, Berkeley law professor sued U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for failing to respond to Freedom of Information Act requests seeking immigration data. A federal judge acknowledged the professor's likely success on the merits but questioned the urgency of emergency relief for data over a decade old. The professor's attorney argued timely access is critical for analyzing historical immigration trends, while the Justice Department opposed the injunction as overly broad.

Health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. claimed his calendar is publicly available as an example of transparency, but no such calendar has been released by the administration. STAT has been requesting the calendar via Freedom of Information Act requests and emails for over a year.

New York City Council demands $4 million for an investigation into the city's handling of air quality information in Lower Manhattan after the 9/11 attacks. The Department of Investigation (DOI) requires the funding to hire an outside firm to track and analyze city records, which advocates claim have been withheld for years. The mayor’s office has not yet committed to the request.

A judge ordered two NYC officials to testify about why the Department of Environmental Protection initially claimed no records existed on Lower Manhattan air quality after 9/11, before later providing 68 boxes of documents. Advocacy group 9/11 Health Watch sued the city over its refusal to release records, seeking transparency on how the city communicated air safety post-attack.

Lone children were held at UK-run detention centres in France 284 times last year, according to Freedom of Information data. Over four years, about 900 instances of unaccompanied minors being detained at British short-term facilities near Calais and Dunkirk were recorded. Refugee charities described the numbers as 'shocking'.

Joe Biden is accused of retaining and disclosing classified government documents, including sensitive information shared with his unvetted ghostwriter, as revealed in a 2024 report by former special counsel Robert Hur. The Department of Justice seeks to release audio recordings and transcripts of Biden's interview, which he is attempting to block via a lawsuit. The case involves violations of the Espionage Act and Biden's alleged use of classified materials for personal memoirs.

Former President Joe Biden is suing the U.S. Department of Justice to block the release of audio recordings and transcripts from private 2016-2017 conversations with his biographer, which were central to a special counsel's investigation into his handling of classified documents. The DOJ plans to release redacted versions of the materials on June 15, following a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit by the Heritage Foundation.

Dr. David Morens, a 78-year-old retired government scientist, was arrested and charged with crimes for allegedly evading Freedom of Information Act requests by using personal email accounts. He faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted. The prosecution raises concerns about the Justice Department's selective enforcement of FOIA.

The U.S. Department of Education has ceased updating a public list of schools under investigation for civil rights violations since January 2025, raising concerns about transparency. Journalists found the department under the Trump administration prioritizing investigations into antisemitism and transgender athletes while neglecting racial harassment cases, leading to a lawsuit by ProPublica after repeated failed requests for information.

Anthony Fauci faced criticism for contradictory mask advice during the pandemic, while his ally Dr. David Morens was indicted for allegedly misleading the public on COVID origins and concealing emails under FOIA laws. Morens, a senior NIH advisor, reportedly learned techniques to hide emails from transparency requests.

The Trump administration has revived the debate over the origins of COVID-19 by indicting David Morens, a former senior advisor to Anthony Fauci, on charges of conspiring to tamper with federal records. The case, unsealed in Maryland, involves allegations of deleting emails and evading transparency laws, with implications for political narratives around pandemic response and federal health agency oversight.

David Morens, a former senior adviser to Dr. Anthony Fauci at the National Institutes of Health, was indicted by the Justice Department for allegedly conspiring to withhold public records from Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests. The DOJ accused him of implementing a scheme to avoid compliance with FOIA laws.

David M. Morens, a former top advisor to Dr. Anthony Fauci at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), was indicted by the Justice Department for allegedly using a private email to conceal communications about the origins of COVID-19, including discussions involving a controversial research grant with the Wuhan Institute of Virology. Prosecutors claim he conspired to hide information from public disclosure and accepted gifts to support a narrative that the virus originated naturally.

The DOJ is challenging the constitutionality of the Presidential Records Act (PRA), which mandates public access to presidential records. Critics argue this move undermines transparency and could enable presidents to withhold historical records. The PRA, established post-Watergate, ensures records are publicly accessible via the Freedom of Information Act.