Exemptions and Exclusions
FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (5 U.S.C. § 552)
Disclosure mandates of the Freedom of Information Act do not apply to matters
that are:
(b)(1) specifically authorized and properly classified pursuant to an
Executive order to be kept secret in the interest of national defense or
foreign policy;
(b)(2) related solely to the internal rules and practices
of an agency; (b)(3) specifically exempted from disclosure by another
statute; (b)(4) privileged or confidential trade secrets and commercial or
financial information obtained from a person; (b)(5) predecisional
information, including attorney work-product and attorney-client material,
reflective of the deliberative process and contained in inter-agency or
intra-agency correspondence which is not routinely available to a private
party in litigation with an agency; (b)(6) personnel, medical and similar
files the disclosure of which would constitute a clearly unwarranted
invasion of personal privacy; (b)(7) records or information compiled for
law enforcement purposes to the extent that the production of such records
or information (A) could reasonably be expected to interfere with
enforcement proceedings, (B) would deprive a person of a right to a fair
trial or an impartial adjudication, (C) could reasonably be expected to
constitute an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy, (D) could reasonably
be expected to disclose the identity of a confidential source, including a
State, local, or foreign agency or authority or any private institution
which furnished information on a confidential basis, and , in the case of a
record or information compiled by a criminal law enforcement authority in
the course of a criminal investigation or by an agency conducting a lawful
national security intelligence investigation, information furnished by a
confidential source, (E) would disclose techniques and procedures for law
enforcement investigation or prosecutions, or would disclose guidelines for
law enforcement investigations or prosecutions if such disclosure could
reasonably be expected to risk circumvention of the law, or (F) could
reasonably be expected to endanger the life or physical safety of any
individual.
PRIVACY ACT (5 U.S.C. § 552a)
(d)(5) Nothing in the Privacy Act shall allow an individual access to any
information compiled in reasonable anticipation of civil action or
proceeding.
Further, an agency may exempt from the access provisions and other provisions of
the Privacy Act:
(j)(2) Material related to the enforcement of criminal laws including
efforts to prevent, control or reduce crime or to apprehend criminals;
(k)(1) Material specifically authorized and properly classified pursuant to
an Executive order to be kept secret in the interest of national defense or
foreign policy;
(k)(2) Material compiled during civil investigations for law enforcement
purposes;
(k)(5) Investigatory material compiled solely for the purpose of determining
suitability, eligibility, or qualifications for Federal civilian employment,
military service, Federal contracts, or access to classified information,
the disclosure of which would reveal the identity of a source who furnished
information to the Government under an express promise that the source's
identity would be held in confidence, or pursuant to an implied promise of
confidentiality if such information was furnished prior to September 27,
1975.
(k)(6) Testing or examination material used solely to determine individual
qualifications for appointment or promotion in the Federal service.
Exclusions
For your information, Congress excluded three discrete categories of law
enforcement and national security records from the requirements of the FOIA. See
5 U.S.C. § 552(c ) (2006), & Supp. IV (2010). This response is limited to those
records that are subject to the requirements of the FOIA. This is a standard
notification that is given to all our requesters and should not be taken as an
indication that excluded records do, or do not, exist. |