FOI

A coalition of 40 California newsrooms has published a study examining the challenges of large-scale public records requests. The California Reporting Project developed a tool, RequestAtlas, to manage unstructured data obtained through public record requests related to police use of force and misconduct.  The study found that early attempts to…

A Fulton County Superior Court judge in Georgia has ruled that the Atlanta Police Foundation (APF) must release 15 unredacted public records related to the Atlanta Public Safety Training Center, known as “Cop City,” within 30 days. The records include board meeting agendas, budget documents, and emails with Georgia Attorney…

A May study titled “Lessons from the Dissolution of Mexico’s Information Commission” examines the March closure of Mexico’s national transparency commission. Researchers Gregory Michener, Margaret Kwoka, and others analyzed the shutdown and identified lack of public engagement as a key factor.  The commission, once regarded as a global model for…

Access to public records continues to vary widely by state, with Alabama ranking last in compliance, according to a recent analysis. While neighboring Florida responded promptly to a reporter’s request regarding a swatting incident at a U.S. senator’s beach house, Alabama agencies delayed or denied similar requests related to a…

Newly released documents obtained through the Freedom of Information Act reveal that the Federal Emergency Management Agency was aware of serious health risks following the February 2023 Norfolk Southern train derailment and controlled burn in East Palestine, Ohio.  According to a lawsuit by the Government Accountability Project against FEMA and…

An experiment published in Government Information Quarterly found that public record requesters who remind record custodians of the public records law are more likely to get the records they seek, particularly when asking for large amounts of data. The researchers emailed record requests to 800 randomly selected cities in Slovakia,…

Brechner Freedom of Information Project Director David Cuillier said the University of Michigan should be more responsive in providing records to people by the state-imposed deadline. Cuillier was quoted this week in an article by The College Fix about the university failing to release public records tied to a fall 2024 course taught by former…

A recent survey by the Faculty Senate at Western Washington University found that a subset of faculty members has experienced harassment related to their areas of research – but little harassment through public records requests. Of the 202 faculty who responded, about 25% reported being targeted, particularly for work focused…

The Iowa Legislature has passed House File 706, a bill that would add a new exemption to keep Capitol security camera footage confidential. On the plus side, the bill raises fines for open meetings violations — from $100–$500 to $500–$2,500 — and increases penalties for knowing violations to $5,000–$12,500. It also requires…

As local newspapers continue to go out of business, researchers are turning to artificial intelligence to preserve historic image archives. A research team from Northeastern University used the Boston Globe’s photo morgue to test how machine learning can help digitally archive photo collections. With AI, the researchers were able to…

A West Virginia bill that was set to make last-minute changes to the state’s freedom of information law, allowing more copy fees, longer delays, and more secrecy, died this month before it reached Gov. Patrick Morrisey’s desk. According to reporting from West Virginia Watch, House Bill 3412 passed out of the…

The National Freedom of Information Act Hall of Fame is back, under the leadership of the Joseph L. Brechner Freedom of Information Project at the University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications.  The Hall of Fame was created in 1996 by the First Amendment Center, an operating program of…