The Freedom of Information Act
Over 50 years have passed since the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) was signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson. Like the Administrative Procedures Act before it, the FOIA aims to increase government transparency by defining records subject to dissemination, and providing mechanisms for their public disclosure. Its passage meant a new level of transparency that defied many international norms that, at the time, were trending towards greater government secrecy. Over the last 50 years, FOIA requests have been a tool of citizen groups and individuals to force agencies to release information that would have remained confidential otherwise. Due to its immense importance in governmental transparency, many
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In response to this trend, arose a demand for greater citizen knowledge of their government’s operations and led to a movement for greater government transparency.
The idea of the FOIA, at least in a legislative context, was first proposed by Congressman John Moss from California in 1955. In recognizing the growing trend towards greater government secrecy, he proposed a law similar to the later FOIA. However, despite his determination, the bill never got off the ground. It wasn’t until over 10 years later that the FOIA was proposed and eventually signed into law by President Johnson. Even though Congressman John Moss failed to get his version of the act off the ground, he did begin the momentum required that led to the FOIA’s passage.
Since the FOIA’s ratification, numerous changes have been made to its contents by removing passages while making additions to others. The first large series of amendments to the FOIA occurred a little less than a decade after its passage, in
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These revisions to the law, gave essential updates necessary for the digital age. In place of paper records, these amendments mandated government agencies maintain electronic collections. This electronic collection of records likely reduced the strain on resources to maintain paper records and better maintain those records over the long-run in FOIA electronic libraries.
In addition to mandating electronic conversion of records, it also permitted citizens to request the records in the format they desire. They could request a printed copy or an electronic one, should they choose. Moreover, the amendments also modified the response time by doubling it. Now government agencies had 20 days instead of 10. It also allowed for the expedited processing of certain requests.
McCraw, David, and Stephen Gikow. “The End to a Unspoken Bargain? National Security and Leaks in a Post-Pentagon Papers World.” Harvard Civil Rights-Civil Liberties Law Review 48.2 (2013): 473-509. Academic OneFile. Web. 5 Dec. 2013.
Chamberlain, Kenneth, “History: The Day the Freedom of Information Act Expanded”. Nationaljournal.com 20 Nov. 2012 General OneFile. Web 26 April 2014.
On December 15, 1791 the Bill of Rights was ratified to limit the government 's power, but no one could have predicted how the world would change and how the amendments would be tested. Since the Bill of Rights was written the world has changed drastically. With advances in technology, that the founders of the constitution could have never predicted, many of the amendments are not applied in the same ways as they were when they were written. The Fourth Amendment in particular has changed very much. The modern forms of communication have tested the Fourth Amendment and the government 's responses.
Privacy was once taken for granted in public education, but now through the 1974 law, Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act it is pushed to the forefront of the minds of every educator in the United States (Cossler, 2010). This law has paved the way for many lawsuits regarding privacy of student’s records, which have left teachers scared, undereducated and unaware of certain regulations of the law. FERPA laws provide protections for students, but also allow access of all student records to the student’s custodial parents, which in some situations has cause problems and in some cases have specifically brought clarifications of the law. Has the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act provided the much needed privacy for students or created an overboard policies?
In 1787, the Constitution, created by a group of men known as the “Framers”, is the highest law in the United States. At first, the Constitution was not ratify because it did not have a bill of rights which is a list of rights that belong to the people. Therefore to allow changes to the Constitution, the Framers created the amendment process. In 1791, congress proposed twelve changes to the Constitution. Ten of the twelve changes were agreed to by the states and were called “The Bill of Rights.” Some of these rights include the right of free speech, the right to practice your own religion and the right to be silent if you are arrested.
Those opposing the amendment gradually increased in number, while those unsure or with no opinion decreased from 12 to 4 over the seven years the amendment attempted ratification (Doc B). The E.R.A. was sent to many states in an effort to gain endorsement. Although many states, like Hawaii and California, ratified the amendment, what brought the E.R.A. to its knees were the states that rescinded their ratification and the states that never ratified it in the first place, including Florida (Doc D). According to another chart (that showed the percentage favoring the E.R.A.... ... middle of paper ...
In early June 2013, Edward Snowden, a 29-year-old former defense contractor who had access to NSA database while working for an intelligence consulting company, leaked classified documents reports that the National Security Agency (NSA) is recording phone calls of millions of Americans along with gathering private data and spying foreign Internet activity. The Washington Post later broke the news disclosed PRISM, a program can collect data on Internet users. The leaked documents publicly stated a vast objection. Many people were shocked by the scale of the programs, even elected representatives were unaware of the surveillance range. A nationwide debate over privacy rights have been sparked. Although supporters claim that the NSA only does its best to protect the United States from terrorists as well as respecting Americans' rights and privacy, many civil rights advocates feel that the government failed to be clear about the limit of the surveillance programs, threatening Americans' civil...
The United States constitution has an amendment process that has been included in the Bill of Rights. The amendment allows Americans to make changes on the September 17, 1789 United States Constitution was ratified and made law. The amendment of the Bill of rights has made America to continue growing in prosperity through the years and to become one of the most powerful nations in the world. The United States constitution was created with an amendment in Article V. This amendment process allows the constitution to adapt to the changes in the American society. The amendment process has made it possible for the constitution to change moderately, than being overhauled, and it has been changed to adhere to the current times and changes.
In it first two hundred years of operation the Constitution proved remarkably flexible. The nature of the U.S. government changed greatly, but most changes evolved from new interpretations of the document. Formal amendment proved necessary in only twenty five instances, and these occurred mainly in spurts--as during the Reconstruction and Progressive periods. However, many of the twenty five amendments provided for fundamental social and procedural adjustments.
Similarly some information are kept from being publicized to the whole world by the government. Wikileaks has done otherwise: material that they disclosed to the world was sensitive material that belonged to the g...
Domestic Surveillance Citizens feeling protected in their own nation is a crucial factor for the development and advancement of that nation. The United States’ government has been able to provide this service for a small tax and for the most part it is money well spent. Due to events leading up to the terrifying attacks on September 11, 2001 and following these attacks, the Unites States’ government has begun enacting certain laws and regulations that ensure the safety of its citizens. From the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) of 1978 to the most recent National Security Agency scandal, the government has attempted and for the most part succeeded in keeping domestic safety under control. Making sure that the balance between obtaining enough intelligence to protect the safety of the nation and the preservation of basic human rights is not extremely skewed, Congress has set forth requisites in FISA which aim to balance the conflicting goals of privacy and security; but the timeline preceding this act has been anything but honorable for the United States government.
It is reasonable to argue that, governmental institutions or people with authority are subject to withhold a great deal of information from society. Many may argue that secrets are kept to ensure the safety of the nation. Thus, upholding the governmental duty of protecting the nation against possible threats. On the other hand, many believe that secrets may exist which violate our constitutional rights. Over the last year, Edward Snowden, has made headline news for leaking sensitive governmental information to the press. Edward Snowden is a 29-year-old high school drop-out, who was a tech specialist for the National Security Association. Snowden had discovered and later exposed the NSA for monitoring the nations e-mails, phone calls, and internet searches. As the allegations spread like wild fire, Edward Snowden sought asylum in Russia for one year. Snowden had a valid and justifiable reason to expose the NSA to the world because they were in violation of our fourth Amendment rights to unreasonable searches and seizures. The government called him a traitor, while others viewed him as a hero for exposing the government. Edward Snowden is a whistle blower because he felt that it is up to society to decide if governmental practices are just or unjust. Snowden does “express the highest respect for the law”, and he wanted to protect the right of privacy for American citizens.
Once the first two requirements have been satisfied and the right to know and need to know has been established, it is now necessary to determine whether the right to release information to the agency is possible. Many times the information or intelligence may not be possible to release, due to the originating agencies need to have the information keep a secret from the everyone, for example, an undercover agents identity was disclosed. Historically, information is classified at a higher level than necessary, so personnel in this type of circumstance are not compromised. If this is the case, than a date should be disclosed as to when this information may be declassified or downgraded to the consumers level.
The privacy of the individual is the most important right. Without privacy, the democratic system that we know would not exist. Privacy is one of the fundamental values on which our country was founded. There are exceptions to privacy rights that are created by the need for defense and security.
Stone, Lieutenant Colonel Evan M. "The Invasion of Privacy Act: The Disclosure of My Information in Your Government File." Widener Law Review 19.2 (2013): 345-385. Academic Search Complete. Web. 6 Apr. 2014.