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50 Days of FOIA: Countdown to the 50th Anniversary of the Freedom of Information Act

On May 15th, a broad coalition of open government and accountability organizations and media outlets are launching a “50 Days of FOIA” campaign -- counting down the days to the 50th anniversary of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) on July 4, 2016. The campaign aims to highlight the importance of the FOIA, while promoting the passage of meaningful reform legislation that now has the potential to become law by the time the statute turns 50 in less than two months.

Coalition calls for hearing on FBI’s use of facial recognition and proposal to exempt biometrics database from Privacy Act protections

Today, OpenTheGovernment.org is joining a coalition of civil rights, human rights, immigrant rights, privacy and transparency organizations, and companies calling on members of Congress to hold an oversight hearing to assess the privacy, civil liberties, and human right issues raised by the FBI’s massive biometric database– the Next Generation Identification (NGI) system, to require the FBI’s compliance with the

RSVP for June 28 Open Government Town Hall - FOIA Beyond 50

July 4th, 2016, marks the 50th anniversary of the federal Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) -- a key moment to celebrate the law, which has empowered the public with access to government information and provided a critical tool used to raise public awareness of countless acts of waste, fraud, abuse, and illegal actions. As we approach the 50th anniversary of the FOIA, OpenTheGovernment.org is planning a Town Hall to discuss the future of FOIA beyond its 50th anniversary.

Congress sends FOIA reform bill to the President’s desk

WASHINGTON, June 13, 2016 – Today, the House passed the FOIA Improvement Act (S.337), bringing the comprehensive FOIA reform bill one step closer to becoming law. The FOIA Improvement Act passed the Senate by unanimous consent on March and, in a bicameral & bipartisan effort to ensure the FOIA legislation is signed into law during this Congress, House leadership decided to vote on the Senate version, and send the bill to the White House for the President’s signature.

Final FOIA Reform Bill on Brink of Passage

S. 337 (FOIA Improvement Act of 2016) will be voted on today in the House under Suspension of the Rules. When it passes, FOIA reform legislation will be ready to go to the President for his signature--as promised by his press secretary. OpenTheGovernment.org joined 27 open government groups in a letter expressing support for the legislation, addressed to House Speaker Paul Ryan and Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi. The letter emphasized that S. 337 would codify the presumption of openness, curb the overuse of FOIA Exemption 5, and promote greater proactive disclosure.

OTG joins coalition in opposing expansion of government authority to access private data

While the FBI has characterized the expansion of the NSL statute as merely fixing a “typo” in the law, the letter emphasizes that the change would dramatically expand the ability of the FBI to get sensitive information about user’s online activities without court oversight.

Coalition calls for removal of harmful FOIA exemptions from the Senate NDAA

Today, more than 30 organizations committed to government openness and accountability are calling for the immediate removal of three exemptions to the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) from the Senate National Defense Authorization Act for FY 2017 (S. 2943). The FOIA exemptions would severely undermine the FOIA by creating an unnecessary secrecy provision at odds with FOIA’s goal of transparency and a carve-out to the FOIA for the Pentagon.

Coalition expresses concern over FBI proposal to exempt biometrics database from Privacy Act protections

OpenTheGovernment.org has joined a coalition of civil rights, human rights, immigrant rights, privacy and transparency organizations, and companies in expressing concern over an FBI proposal to exempt its extraordinary biometrics database – the Next Generation Identification (NGI) system --from virtually every key provision of the Privacy Act.

Recommendations for the United States Trade Representative 2016 Open Government Plan

Today, OpenTheGovernment.org and seven other open government groups submitted recommendations for the 2016 U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) Open Government Plan.

OTG pushes Archivist to preserve Senate torture report

Following reports that the CIA inspector general's office had "mistakenly" destroyed it's only copy of the Senate torture report, OpenTheGovernment.org sent a follow-up to the April 28th letter in which groups called on the Archivist of the United States to ensure the preservation of the report.