Requested Information
The names of MPIA requesters, in conjunction with their request numbers, since the onset of the HCPSS MPIA online system. For reference please see: https://www.justice.gov/oip/blog/foia-update-foia-counselor-questions-answers-15
It states: "Can the identities of FOIA requesters be withheld under the FOIA? No, not as a general rule. As one court has held, "FOIA requesters . . . have no general expectation that their names will be kept private." Agee v. CIA, 1 GDS ΒΆ 80,213 at 80,532 (D.D.C. 1980). In fact, in most cases the release of the name of a FOIA requester would not cause even the minimal invasion of privacy required to trigger the balancing tests of Exemptions 6 and 7(C). See Stauss v. IRS, 516 F. Supp. 1218, 1223 (D.D.C. 1981); cf. National Western Life Insurance Co. v. United States, 512 F. Supp. 454, 460-61 (N.D. Tex. 1980); compare Wine Hobby USA, Inc. v. IRS, 502 F.2d 133, 137 (3d Cir. 1974). It would take an extraordinarily rare and compelling situation for the mere identification of a person or entity as a FOIA requester of particular records to rise to the level of implicating a privacy interest (or, less likely, a commercial interest) protectible under the FOIA."
It states: "Can the identities of FOIA requesters be withheld under the FOIA? No, not as a general rule. As one court has held, "FOIA requesters . . . have no general expectation that their names will be kept private." Agee v. CIA, 1 GDS ΒΆ 80,213 at 80,532 (D.D.C. 1980). In fact, in most cases the release of the name of a FOIA requester would not cause even the minimal invasion of privacy required to trigger the balancing tests of Exemptions 6 and 7(C). See Stauss v. IRS, 516 F. Supp. 1218, 1223 (D.D.C. 1981); cf. National Western Life Insurance Co. v. United States, 512 F. Supp. 454, 460-61 (N.D. Tex. 1980); compare Wine Hobby USA, Inc. v. IRS, 502 F.2d 133, 137 (3d Cir. 1974). It would take an extraordinarily rare and compelling situation for the mere identification of a person or entity as a FOIA requester of particular records to rise to the level of implicating a privacy interest (or, less likely, a commercial interest) protectible under the FOIA."
Status
Complete
Responsive Documents