The Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) submitted comments to the Federal Trade Commission last week supporting several of the agency’s changes to its FOIA regulations.
In addition to applauding the reduction of their request fees, the organization made the following statements [from EPIC’s website]:
EPIC applauded the agency for reducing request fees, and urged the commission to:
- update its definition for news media representative
- clarify which documents are public information and ensure that hyperlinks to those records work properly
- disclose private sector contract rates for FOIA processing
- refrain from prematurely closing FOIA requests
- adopt alternative dispute resolution or arbitration when resolving delinquent FOIA fees.
EPIC routinely comments on agency proposals that impact the rights of FOIA requesters. Last year, EPIC submitted extensive comments to theDepartment of Defense, warning the agency not to erect new obstacles for FOIA requesters. For more information, see EPIC: Open Government.