The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA): Background, Legislation, and Policy Issues

The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA; 5 U.S.C. 552), often referred to as the embodiment of the peoples right to know about the activities and operations of government, statutorily established a presumption of public access to information held by executive branch departments and agencies. Enacted in 1966 to replace the Public Information section of the Administrative Procedure Act (APA; 5 U.S.C. Subchapter II),2 FOIA allows any personindividual or corporate, citizen or notto request and obtain, without explanation or justification, existing, identifiable, and unpublished agency records on any topic.3Presidential Administrations have interpreted FOIAs presumed public access to agency records differently. For example, the Department of Justice (DOJ) under the direction of the George W. Bush Administration cautioned federal agencies to give full and deliberate consideration of the institutional, commercial, and personal privacy interests when making disclosure determinations and assured them that DOJ would defend agency decisions in court unless they lack[ed] a sound legal basis or present[ed] an unwarranted risk of adverse impact on the ability of other agencies to protect other important records.4In contrast, the Barack H. Obama Administration requires agencies to adopt a presumption in favor of disclosure.