Book contents
- Saving the Freedom of Information Act
- Saving the Freedom of Information Act
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Acknowledgements
- Introduction
- Part I FOIA And Democracy
- Part II Who Makes a Million FOIA Requests
- 3 It Is Not the News Media
- 4 Immigration
- 5 Other First-Person Requesting
- 6 FOIA, Inc.
- 7 Information Resellers
- 8 Idiosyncratic Requesters
- Part III Let Oversight Reign
- Appendices
- Index
8 - Idiosyncratic Requesters
from Part II - Who Makes a Million FOIA Requests
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 08 October 2021
- Saving the Freedom of Information Act
- Saving the Freedom of Information Act
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Acknowledgements
- Introduction
- Part I FOIA And Democracy
- Part II Who Makes a Million FOIA Requests
- 3 It Is Not the News Media
- 4 Immigration
- 5 Other First-Person Requesting
- 6 FOIA, Inc.
- 7 Information Resellers
- 8 Idiosyncratic Requesters
- Part III Let Oversight Reign
- Appendices
- Index
Summary
There are some requesters – even frequent requesters – that defy easy categorization. After all, FOIA’s design is to open up government for all to see, regardless of the reasons for the request, the value of the records, or the likely effect of disclosure, except where relevant to determining an exemption to mandatory production or fee category.1 As a result, it attracts all manner of requesters. First-person requesting largely reflects the fact that people who have no other way of obtaining their own file use FOIA as a last resort. Commercial requesting merely represents data on what information companies actually need and want from the government and may provide insights into how government can better manage its information flow. These information constituents are certainly dominant across government agencies.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Saving the Freedom of Information Act , pp. 149 - 164Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2021