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posted 15 Mar 2005

Security fears hamper FOI

Security exemptions are likely to be applied too vigorously as information professionals evade the requirements of the UK’s Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), according to the National Security Archive (NSA). The NSA is an independent body that publishes documents acquired through the Freedom of Information Act in the US.

There is a culture of secrecy in the US since 9/11, according to NSA representative Barbara Elias. “The US government has become more paranoid about the type of information released. They don’t seem to weigh the public interest against the public benefit,” she says.

The NSA has recently published Transport Security Administration documents known as Information Circulars that contain aviation warnings. It had gone to appeal over access to the documents. The TSA had previously redacted (deleted) details that had already been widely cited in the best-selling 9/11 Commission Report.

Elias questions the necessity of withholding the circulars, describing them as “dubious secrets”. She says, “It seems clear that the Transportation Security Administration did not review these documents on the basis of the information they contain, they simply redacted everything they could legally redact.

“This type of redaction is something that will happen in the UK because people who are low down in organisations don’t want to get into trouble, so when in doubt they will withhold information even if it is in the public interest,” she adds.

A representative for the Information Commissioner’s Office in the UK, which handles complaints about information withheld in response to requests under the FOIA in England and Wales, said the office only received 22 complaints in total by the end of February 2005. After assessing the level and type of complaints over the first three months, the commissioner will consider classifying the type of complaint being made and a clearer picture will emerge about what type of demands for information are being turned down on security grounds.