The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA): Background, Legislation, and Policy Issues

"The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA; 5 U.S.C. §552) allows any person—individual or

corporate, citizen or not—to request and obtain, without explanation or justification, existing,

identifiable, and unpublished agency records on any topic. Pursuant to FOIA, the public has

presumptive access to agency records unless the material falls within any of FOIA’s nine

categories of exception. Disputes over the release of records requested pursuant to FOIA can be

appealed administratively, resolved through mediation, or heard in court.."
Freedom of Information Act