Drupal Category: Improving Access

New Bipartisan FOIA Bill Punches Back at Attacks

Bill will protect public access to information from private entities that do business with the government following Supreme Court decision. The new Open and Responsive Government Act of 2019, introduced   Read Full

July 23, 2019

Supreme Court’s Decision in First FOIA Case Fails to Defend the Public’s Right to Know

The Supreme Court ruled 6-3 today in favor of denying the public’s access to government spending information in the Food Marketing Institute v. Argus Leader Media case that brought to fore the   Read Full

June 24, 2019

Defense Department’s Gag Rule Memo Spurs Letter Urging Office of the Special Counsel to Investigate

Open The Government and the Government Accountability Project sent a letter to the Office of the Special Counsel today urging the agency to investigate the Department of Defense’s new policy   Read Full

May 22, 2019

FOIA Request by OTG & ACLU Uncovers Significant Racial Disparities in DC’s Police Arrests

In response to a Freedom of Information Act request filed by Open The Government and ACLU-DC, the District of Columbia’s Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) recently provided extensive arrest data for   Read Full

May 14, 2019

Access to government spending data in limbo as SCOTUS considers FOIA case

On April 22, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Food Marketing Institute v. Argus Leader Media, a case that is likely to reveal the Court’s first interpretation of a   Read Full

May 6, 2019

Combating Government Secrecy through Freedom of Information

In response to a growing culture of government secrecy, people are seeking new ways to defend their right to information and combat intensifying threats to transparency and accountability. Openness advocates,   Read Full

March 15, 2018

New report reveals growing government secrecy in immigration enforcement

A new report from the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC) reveals that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is increasingly concealing information that was previously released to the public in accordance   Read Full

September 5, 2017

Senators call for FOIA compliance, full implementation of the 2016 FOIA reforms

In the spirit of Sunshine Week, and National Freedom of Information Day, Senators Feinstein, Leahy, Cornyn, and Grassley sent letters to the Trump Administration on March 15, 2017, calling for   Read Full

March 17, 2017

Updated: OMB responds to coalition letter on stripping online government data

On February 13, a group of 69 public interest organizations dedicated to open and accountable government, free speech, civil rights, consumer protection, the environment, and other issues called on federal   Read Full

March 8, 2017

Reports of Information Removed from Government Websites

Since the Trump Administration took office, reports of information going missing from government websites have caused confusion and worry. Volunteers from government and civil society have been working to preserve as   Read Full

February 23, 2017