Term
| why is snowden in trouble? |
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Definition
| he's going to charged with treason if he returns. the big issue is whether or not he was whistleblowing. FOIA doesn't protect or apply to him here because the government didn't give him the info, he stole it. if they find that he's whistleblowing (ie highlighting something illegal) he might be able to get off (but not scott free) |
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Term
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Definition
| in 1966 people really wanted information from congress, but there was no legislation on it. they didn't want people to have access to everything, so they created foia and set rules for what could and could not be asked for. |
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Term
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Definition
(A) specifically authorized under criteria established by an Executive order to be kept secret in the interest of national defense or foreign policy and (B) are in fact properly classified pursuant to such Executive order;[8]
related solely to the internal personnel rules and practices of an agency;[8]
specifically exempted from disclosure by statute (other than section 552b of this title), provided that such statute (A) requires that the matters be withheld from the public in such a manner as to leave no discretion on the issue, or (B) establishes particular criteria for withholding or refers to particular types of matters to be withheld;[8] FOIA Exemption 3 Statutes
trade secrets and commercial or financial information obtained from a person and privileged or confidential;[8]
inter-agency or intra-agency memoranda or letters which would not be available by law to a party other than an agency in litigation with the agency;[8]
personnel and medical files and similar files the disclosure of which would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy;[8]
records or information compiled for law enforcement purposes, but only to the extent that the production of such law enforcement records or information (A) could reasonably be expected to interfere with enforcement proceedings, (B) would deprive a person of a right to a fair trial or an impartial adjudication, (C) could reasonably be expected to constitute an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy, (D) could reasonably be expected to disclose the identity of a confidential source, including a State, local, or foreign agency or authority or any private institution which furnished information on a confidential basis, and, in the case of a record or information compiled by a criminal law enforcement authority in the course of a criminal investigation or by an agency conducting a lawful national security intelligence investigation, information furnished by a confidential source, (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, or (F) could reasonably be expected to endanger the life or physical safety of any individual;[8]
contained in or related to examination, operating, or condition reports prepared by, on behalf of, or for the use of an agency responsible for the regulation or supervision of financial institutions;[8] or
geological and geophysical information and data, including maps, concerning wells. |
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Term
| what is the privacy act of 1974 |
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Definition
| it's in reference to all the stuff foia left out in their stupid thing but it;s all in reference to people. "No agency shall disclose any record which is contained in a system of records by any means of communication to any person, or to another agency, except pursuant to a written request by, or with the prior written consent of, the individual to whom the record pertains.." that's it p much |
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Term
| what are exceptions to the privacy act? |
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Definition
For statistical purposes by the Census Bureau and the Bureau of Labor Statistics
For routine uses within a U.S. government agency
For archival purposes "as a record which has sufficient historical or other value to warrant its continued preservation by the United States Government"
For law enforcement purposes
For congressional investigations
Other administrative purposes |
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Term
| how do you write into foia? |
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Definition
| you have to write a foia request, which is you describing the info you want and why and in what format |
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Term
| what does foia allow access to? |
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Definition
| any agency record. they won't analyze it, but they'll send raw data. |
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Term
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Definition
| there's no price for asking for information. |
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Term
| so, say you want info on yourself, not other people. can foia provide info about yourself? |
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Definition
| yeah, if you use identification. you'll have to sign a lot of papers though, so no, you can't pretend to be someone else asking for their own info. |
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Term
| has there ever been a case disputing foia facts? |
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Definition
Historical context[edit]
The FBI had a long history of releasing and then redacting various records and claiming that this was completely legal according to exemption sections in the FOIA[18] Sometimes, these redactions interfered with court cases and research. According to Athan Theoharis, an American historian who wanted to research FBI files, the FBI "so heavily redacted the released records as to preclude needed research." About two-thirds of the files Theoharis asked for in relation to his research were withheld from him.[18] This gives an example of the extent to which the FBI used the exemptions in the Freedom of Information Act. The FBI was notorious for such redactions and withholdings, and many believed that it interfered with justice being carried out. With the advent of Landano's case before the Supreme Court, the FBI's excessive use of the exemptions in the FOIA were finally being questioned.
Arguments[edit]
Vincent James Landano argued that the evidence he requested should not have been withheld according to Exemption 7(D) because the FBI might have been obliged to reveal the names of sources according to Brady v. Maryland. Landano also believed that a source is considered "confidential" (for purposes of Exemption 7(D)) only if the source can be completely assured, either explicitly through the actually stating of such assurance or implicitly (implied) that the source's cooperation with the FBI will not be disclosed to anyone.[19] The FBI, however, argued that "confidentiality" in terms to Exemption 7(D) can be presumed based on either an investigation's subject matter or the simple fact that an informant is giving information to the FBI. |
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Term
| what is the government in the sunshine act? |
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Definition
| "The Sunshine Act provides, with ten specified exemptions, that 'every portion of every meeting of an agency shall be open to public observation.' 5 U.S.C. 552b(b) It imposes procedural requirements to ensure, inter alia [among other things], that advance notice is given to the public before agency meetings take place. It also imposes procedural requirements an agency must follow before determining that one of the ten exemptions from the openness requirement applies. However, neither the openness requirement, nor the related procedural requirements, are triggered unless the governmental entity at issue is an 'agency,' and unless the gathering in question is a 'meeting' of the agency." Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc., v. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 216 F.3d 1180, 1182 (D.C. Cir. 2000). |
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Term
| what can't be disclosed in gov in sunshine? |
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Definition
information relating to national defense,
related solely to internal personnel rules and practices,
related to accusing a person of a crime,
related to information where disclosure would constitute a breach of privacy,
related to investigatory records where the information would harm the proceedings,
related to information which would lead to financial speculation or endanger the stability of any financial institution, and
related to the agency's participation in legal proceedings. |
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Term
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Definition
| you can file a lawsuit if they don't give you the info you need. |
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Term
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Definition
| someone who outs information about misconduct |
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Term
| the nsa has been caught spying. do they relate to foia at all? |
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Definition
yeah, the have a bureau there.
The goal of the FOIA office at NSA is to release as much information as possible, consistent with the need to protect classified and sensitive information under the exemption provisions of the law. Where discretionary releases can be made without causing harm, the Deputy Director of Policy, as the initial denial authority, and the NSA Deputy Director, as the appeal authority, use their discretion to release information even where an exemption may be available. The FOIA exemptions used by NSA to protect information are exemptions one through seven. The eighth and ninth exemptions do not pertain to the missions and functions of NSA. |
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Term
| what's been the foia request acceptance rate? |
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Definition
| they said a cool 95.7, but it's more like 56%. http://nsarchive.files.wordpress.com/2012/02/dojchart2011.jpg?w=600&h=450 |
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Term
| what did snowden release? |
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Definition
In a video interview that took place in Hong Kong, Edward Snowden leaked National Security Agency (NSA) documents to The Guardian and The Washington Post regarding top-secret government surveillance programs at a Hong Kong hotel June 9, 2013. Snowden’s leak expanded an intense debate over the clash between national security and online privacy.
he leaked stuff that was clearly an illegality on the NSA's part, which is whistleblowing, but they'll still charge him with treason because ha ha. |
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Term
| are there state foia laws? |
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Definition
| no, but each state has its own state freedom of info act. |
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Term
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Definition
| she leaked info on baghdad airstrikes, released diplomatic cables and files on Guantanamo bay, and had it posted on wikileaks. |
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Term
| is chelsea a whistleblower like snowden? |
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Definition
| she wasn't considered to be and was arrested. snowden has misgivings with something he considered abuse but couldn't go to his superiors with, so he released it to the public. from what i understand, despite the fact that chelsea went through the same inability go to her superiors, the magnitude of the things released could be considered greater but also not illegal. whoopsies. snowden thought she was a whistleblower, though. |
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Term
| does wikileaks butt heads with what is allowed to go public and what isn't? |
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Definition
| no shit, sherlock. however, it has its defenses. "On their website WikiLeaks states Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights as a basis their work by defining the human rights of expression and receipt of information regardless of frontiers as civil rights. The WikiLeaks web site further defines "principled leaking," as necessary to fight government, individual and corporate corruption. Julian Assange also has compared his actions to Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers case as an example of why principled leaking would be necessary for good government." |
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Term
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Definition
| abuse of human rights in places like egypt, money embezzling, released cables again |
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Term
| so is julian assange a whistleblower? |
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Definition
| not really. he's not a gov employee and his info was all based on manning, so not really. they also think he's out to hurt america. |
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Term
| can wikileaks be taken down on the basis of having illegal info? |
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Definition
| maybe, but it teeters on the edge of the first amendment. |
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Term
| is what the nsa does legal?? |
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Definition
| well, ir sure says so. despite the fact that it listens in on private calls and takes information from online that it really shouldn't, it's very much protected by law. however, a lot of the stuff they've done is under legal investigation and the ACLU will have a ruling about the legality of listening in on calls soon. |
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Term
| is there protection for whistleblowers? |
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Definition
| there's a whole gov program! http://www.whistleblowers.gov/ |
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Term
| is whistleblowing illegal? |
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Definition
| it's not illegal and if you're found to be a whistleblower, you can get protection. that won't stop you from being prosecuted though, because they can still slam you with treason charges even though it's been classified as NOT being treason. funny how things work out like that. |
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Term
| has nsa's foia stuff been affected by snowden and other whistleblowers? |
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Definition
| OH my god yeah. there's been a whopping 888% increase in requests from their foia info since snowden. |
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Term
| what happens if you write to the nsa asking if information has been gathered on a certain individual? |
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Definition
| they will neither confirm or deny it which is kind of effed up. |
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Term
| if you write to the NSA and ask about YOURSELF what do you get? |
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Definition
| lately (especially in the wake of snowden) mostly this: "[Y]our request is denied because the fact of the existence or non-existence of responsive records is a currently and properly classified matter," |
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Term
| what is the foia reading room? |
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Definition
| a LOT of previously asked for/disclosed info. http://www.dod.mil/pubs/foi/rdroom.html |
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