[Infowarrior] - FOIA Requests Revisited - favoring disclosure

[Richard Forno]

Key takeaway:  "All agencies should adopt a presumption in favor of  
disclosure" -

http://thefoiablog.typepad.com/the_foia_blog/2009/01/foia-executive-order.html

THE WHITE HOUSE

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release January 21, 2009

January 21, 2009

MEMORANDUM FOR THE HEADS OF EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENTS AND AGENCIES

SUBJECT: Freedom of Information Act

A democracy requires accountability, and accountability requires  
transparency. As Justice Louis Brandeis wrote, "sunlight is said to be  
the best of disinfectants." In our democracy, the Freedom of  
Information Act (FOIA), which encourages accountability through  
transparency, is the most prominent expression of a profound national  
commitment to ensuring an open Government. At the heart of that  
commitment is the idea that accountability is in the interest of the  
Government and the citizenry alike.

The Freedom of Information Act should be administered with a clear  
presumption: In the face of doubt, openness prevails. The Government  
should not keep information confidential merely because public  
officials might be embarrassed by disclosure, because errors and  
failures might be revealed, or because of speculative or abstract  
fears. Nondisclosure should never be based on an effort to protect the  
personal interests of Government officials at the expense of those  
they are supposed to serve. In responding to requests under the FOIA,  
executive branch agencies (agencies) should act promptly and in a  
spirit of cooperation, recognizing that such agencies are servants of  
the public.

All agencies should adopt a presumption in favor of disclosure, in  
order to renew their commitment to the principles embodied in FOIA,  
and to usher in a new era of open Government. The presumption of  
disclosure should be applied to all decisions involving FOIA.

The presumption of disclosure also means that agencies should take  
affirmative steps to make information public. They should not wait for  
specific requests from the public. All agencies should use modern  
technology to inform citizens about what is known and done by their  
Government. Disclosure should be timely.

I direct the Attorney General to issue new guidelines governing the  
FOIA to the heads of executive departments and agencies, reaffirming  
the commitment to accountability and transparency, and to publish such  
guidelines in the Federal Register. In doing so, the Attorney General  
should review FOIA reports produced by the agencies under Executive  
Order 13392 of December 14, 2005. I also direct the Director of the  
Office of Management and Budget to update guidance to the agencies to  
increase and improve information dissemination to the public,  
including through the use of new technologies, and to publish such  
guidance in the Federal Register.

This memorandum does not create any right or benefit, substantive or  
procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any party against the  
United States, its departments, agencies, or entities, its officers,  
employees, or agents, or any other person.

The Director of the Office of Management and Budget is hereby  
authorized and directed to publish this memorandum in the Federal  
Register.

BARACK OBAMA

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