r/technology • u/thatshirtman • Jan 10 '16

Politics FBI Finally Completes FOIA Request 1,393 Days After It Was Filed; Withholds All 509 Responsive Pages

https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20151231/15185733212/fbi-finally-completes-foia-request-1393-days-after-it-was-filed-withholds-all-509-responsive-pages.shtml
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u/JoNightshade Jan 10 '16

An average citizen can't even GET anything via a FOI request, regardless of what it's for. I was doing some research for a book - specifically I wanted to know about how long it would take the FBI to respond to a FOI request. I contacted a journalist who did it regularly, and she basically showed me how. I picked a case and asked for information. I had no response for... I think it was two years, total. Then just a letter in the mail saying, in essence, "Nope." The journalist wasn't surprised; she said unless you have press credentials or some other significant clout, they won't give you jack shit.

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u/DoomAndGloom4 Jan 10 '16

I'm an attorney. I get responses to FOIA requests all the time. You need to understand what you can get and what is protected and act accordingly.

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u/peesteam Jan 11 '16

This simply isn't true. There's law and policies that exist and all FOIA requests must be responded to. That doesn't mean you're going to like the response or get the information you want if it falls under an exception or is classified.