The great FOIA dodge

Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests are plagued with long delays, obfuscation and secret back channels.

Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests are meant to promote government transparency and accountability, and give the public access to information about the operations and decisions of federal agencies.

But serious concerns have been raised about the ascertainment of public records and the lack of transparency of federal agencies.

In recent congressional hearings, it was revealed that top US public health officials created ‘secret’ back channels for communications on federal business, in order to avoid prying eyes.