Congress passed the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) in 1966 and amended the law in 1974. The purpose of the law was to create a more open and accountable government. The law establishes that government agencies must provide any information requested, if they possess the information, unless specific restriction prohibit the public release of the information. FOIA has become a fundamental tool for obtaining information and promoting accountability with the government and industry. FOIA's Uses Individuals, universities, business, or any organization can easily use FOIA to obtain government records. Essentially, FOIA requests are just letters to federal agencies explaining what information is being sought and why. Some agencies have online forms for FOIA requests. Some access advocates also provide resources that walk users through the process of putting together a request letter. FOIA has successfully been used to uncover important information relating to public health, environmental hazards, consumer product safety, government spending, labor relations, business decisions, taxes, history, foreign policy, national defense and the economy. FOIA's Limitations FOIA does not apply universally to all government held information. The law applies only to federal agencies and therefore does not create a right of access to records held by Congress, the courts, or by state or local government agencies. Each state has its own public access laws, many of which mirror FOIA closely. The law also contains nine exemptions that allow federal agencies to withhold requested documents from the public. After information has been collected in response to a FOIA request, officials in an agency review the documents to determine what can and cannot be released. Agencies inform requesters when documents are withheld from a response and explain which exemptions justify the withholding. These exemptions are:

• national security,
• internal agency rules,
• information governed by other statutes,
• business information,
• internal government memos,
• private matters,
• law enforcement investigations,
• records on the regulation of financial institutions,
• and information concerning the location of oil wells.

Since the general exemptions are not very specific, the process of applying them often requires subjective judgments by agency officials. An agency may even apply the exemptions too broadly, withholding information that should be released to the requester. Given the government's inherent inclination towards secrecy, this result it is not overly surprising. If requesters believe that documents have been withheld unfairly then they may appeal the FOIA response. The appeal, another letter to the agency, should explain how the exemption has been misapplied. If the requester is still unsatisfied with the agency's appeal response, then the requester's only recourse is to take the matter to court.