Your Rights Under the Freedom of Information Act: A Guide to the FOIA Process and Appeals
The actions of the federal government can seem unclear and far away to a lot of people. Someone might want to know how the government made a decision, what information was used to make it, or what a certain agency is doing with taxpayers' money. It can be annoying to think that the government is working in secret. You do have options, though. The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) is a very important federal law that lets anyone see records kept by federal agencies. It is a strong tool that makes the government more open and makes it responsible. If you want to know what your government is doing, you need to know how to make a FOIA request, what information you can and can't get, and how to appeal a denial. The Foundation of Your Rights: The FOIA Explained The Freedom of Information Act, which became law in 1966, lets anyone ask for access to records kept by federal agencies. The law is based on a simple but important idea: the government should always share information, not kee...