Lawchek® - Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)

The Freedom of Information Act

There has always been a resounding pride of Americans about the rights we posses. As our history grows, so does our maturity as a nation. In this growing maturity, we have become increasingly focused upon using the rights allotted to us. One of these is the freedom of information.

The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) was enacted in 1966 to enable American citizens with the "right to know" or the right to examine government records. Before the FOIA was enacted, it was the citizens responsibility to illustrate to the government agency the "need to know" without guidelines or procedures to follow. Since the first Citizen's Guide on How to Use the Freedom of Information Act and the Privacy Act in Requesting Government Documents was issued by the Committee on Government Operations in 1977, this guideline and information on the FOIA has become "one of the most widely read congressional committee reports in history."2

We all recognize that there are certain aspects about our government that we cannot know for the simple necessity of national security, individual privacy, etc. However, it may come as a surprise to the uninformed and a relief to the skeptic that there are many things that we can learn about our government.

Today, through the ever expanding Internet, it is only a matter of knowing where to go, where to look and, if further inquiries are needed, who to contact. Almost all of the major government sites have a FOIA page, contact, or in some cases, a library already collaborated from the most frequently requested information.

Below are links to various collections of these sites across the web. These topics include: Articles about the FOIA, the Document and Amendments, Government FOIA Contacts, How to File & Other Resources, Organizations that discuss the FOIA, and State Centers and Contacts. Also see the Highlighted FOIA Links, which lists some already gathered FOIA files collected for easy access because of the number of requests by citizens.

Highlighted FOIA Links

The FBI FOIA Reading Room has many collaborated files of public interest. Here are only a few of the collections. (All of the documents have been scanned into PDF format, which may be read using Adobe Acrobat Reader. Adobe may be downloaded at no cost at: www.adobe.com.)

People

Gangster Era

Historical Interest

Unusual Phenomena

These are only a few examples, for more see the FBI FOIA Reading Room.

Articles These sites have either a collection of stories pertaining to the FOIA or have a select article or two, which may be of interest. This selection is for the general browser who would like to read more about the FOIA. Sites with special interest and other information as well are marked with an asterisk (*).	How to File & Resources These sites offer help to the citizen who would like to file a request under the FOIA or would like to know more about the use of the act. Sites that offer more information about the FOIA in general are listed with an asterisk (*).
Document & Amendments This selection provides links to the FOIA document and its amendments. Most sites have both the FOIA and the Privacy Act. Some of the sites provide discussion before the actual texts and these are marked with an asterisk (*).	Organizations & the FOIA There are many organizations interested in either the abilities of the citizen under the FOIA or the general abuses surrounding it. These organizations do vary in political standpoints, some are "conservative" and others are "liberal." All in all, a good place to look at what is being said about the FOIA.
Government Sites All of these sites contain information concerning the FOIA. Most of the agencies discuss how to directly contact their offices. Also, many have research engines or libraries accessible through the Internet. A few of the sites do offer more information about the FOIA in general and special interest articles. These more detailed sites are marked with an asterisk (*).	State Centers An alphabetical listing of the various contacts in each state. All listings include means of contact for the State Attorney General, the State Bar Association, and the State Sunshine Chair. Extra sites that are more general in character have been included for some states and are marked with an asterisk (*).

1 Letter to W.T. Barry, August 4, 1822. Taken from Introduction (Section II) of A Citizen's Guide on Using the Freedom of Information Act and the Privacy Act of 1974 to Request Government Records formatted by the Wireless Telecommunications Bureau of the Federal Communication Commission.
2 Citizen's Guide, Wireless Telecommunications, Preface (Section I).

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