ATFE Correspondence on Additive Manufacturing

To Whom It May Concern:

This is a request under the Freedom of Information Act. I hereby request the following records:

Any internal correspondence (emails, memos, notes, etc.) with respect to the potential criminal uses of additive manufacturing (3D printing) from the last five years.

The requested documents will be made available to the general public, and this request is not being made for commercial purposes.

In the event that fees cannot be waived, I would be grateful if you would inform me of the total charges in advance of fulfilling my request. I would prefer the request filled electronically, by e-mail attachment if available or CD-ROM if not.

Thank you in advance for your anticipated cooperation in this matter. I look forward to receiving your response to this request within 20 business days, as the statute requires.

Sincerely,

Lukas Knight

To Whom It May Concern:

No acknowledgement has yet been received in response to this FOIA request for "Any internal correspondence (emails, memos, notes, etc.) with respect to the potential criminal uses of additive manufacturing (3D printing) from the last five years." It was initially submitted to your office on October 8, 2015. Confirmation of receipt and an estimated date of completion would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you for your help.

I would like to appeal my classification as a noncommercial requester. I am an employee of Muckrock (https://www.muckrock.com/news/archives/2015/dec/01/cesar-chavez-fbi-file/) requesting with the intention of publishing unique journalistic works regarding the requested documents.

Additionally, as summarized by the Justice Department, Office of Information Policy (see: http://www.justice.gov/oip/long-v-dhs-no-14-807-2015-wl-3961312-ddc-june-29-2015-cooper-j):

"...the court finds that "[p]laintiffs' uncontested representations that they intend and have the ability to disseminate new research to the public were sufficient to meet the definition of representatives of the news media." The court specifically addresses defendant's counter arguments and, in response, finds that "[i]ncorporating information from a range of sources . . . is not essential for news media status[,]"[...]"

In relation to factors two and four: the intention of a federal agency charged with enforcing laws regarding the manufacturing, sale, and possession of firearms to regulate or not to regulate an emerging technology, one capable of manufacturing difficult-to-trace firearms, is of significant public concern prima facie. Whether or not an agency charged with the regulation of firearms has undertaken the regulation of weapons now being produced through additive manufacturing is something of significant public interest.

If my requests or requests for media classification are continually denied on the basis of arbitrary judgments of their content on the part of the agency, I fully intend to appeal. Thank you for your time and assistance in fulfilling my requests.

To Whom It May Concern:
I wanted to follow up on the following request, copied below. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response.
Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.