DHS OIG social media procedures

To Whom It May Concern:

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

A copy of DHS OIG social media procedures, as referenced in the September 2013 OIG report, "DHS Uses Social Media To Enhance Information Sharing and Mission Operations, But Additional Oversight and Guidance Are Needed":

From page 5 - "DHS Office of Inspector General (OIG) follows its own social media procedures and relies on its own attorneys, privacy officer, information security personnel, etc."

I also request that, if appropriate, fees be waived as I believe this request is in the public interest. The requested documents will be made available to the general public free of charge as part of the public information service at MuckRock.com, processed by a representative of the news media/press and is made in the process of news gathering and not for commercial usage.

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,

Shawn Musgrave

Mr. Musgrave,

Thank you for your interest in the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Office of Inspector General (OIG). Attached please find DHS-OIG's acknowledgement letter to the above-referenced FOIA request.

Ms. Teal,

Thank you for acknowledgement of 2014-001. Please send all communications related to this request to this email inbox, so that MuckRock can properly track the request as it is processed.

Best,
Shawn

To Whom It May Concern:

I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on Oct. 3, 2013. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed. You had assigned it reference number #2014-001.

Thank you for your help.

To Whom It May Concern:

I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on Oct. 3, 2013. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed. You had assigned it reference number #2014-001.

Thank you for your help.

To Whom It May Concern:

I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on Oct. 3, 2013. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed. You had assigned it reference number #2014-001.

Thank you for your help.

Ms. Teal:

I contest my classification as a commercial requester and reassert that I am more appropriately classified as a representative of the news media.

First, your letter of February 20 may quote DHS FOIA guidelines, but it seems these guidelines are out of step with the 2007 FOIA amendments, which made incredibly clear that news media is not limited to traditional media outlets, nor are journalists solely limited to newsroom reporters.

I am undoubtedly a journalist, having published dozens of articles on a variety of topics. Of particular relevance here, I have covered national security, technology and privacy issues extensively for both traditional and new/online outlets.

I am the editor of the MuckRock (MuckRock.com) website, which publishes original news content on a daily basis. All of MuckRock's content focuses either on FOIA itself or reports off of documents received via public records requests. Below are a number of the dozens of articles I have written for MuckRock:

https://www.muckrock.com/news/archives/2013/nov/06/mr-de-blasio-open-nypd/

https://www.muckrock.com/news/archives/2013/oct/25/librarian-rebukes-nun-over-comic-books/

https://www.muckrock.com/news/archives/2013/oct/03/foia-shutdown-which-agencies-have-put-their-public/

In addition to my capacity as editor of MuckRock, I am also a freelance journalist whose work has been published in such online and print outlets as the Boston Globe, VICE/Motherboard, The Phoenix, The Progressive and Dig Boston. Here are clips of previous articles that I have written for some of these publications:

https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2013/04/08/big-brother-better-police-work-new-technology-automatically-runs-license-plates-everyone/1qoAoFfgp31UnXZT2CsFSK/story.html

https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2013/10/25/mass-libraries-strikingly-free-censorship/GV3LPCJO4kdzCb3a9HE6HJ/story.html

https://www.motherboard.vice.com/blog/the-nypd-is-foia-proof

http://www.thephoenix.com/boston/news/153301-fung-wahtf/

http://www.digboston.com/boston-news-opinions/2013/10/news-to-us-cambridge-blocks-big-brother/

I hereby officially appeal your fee category determination and request an amendment to the appropriate category -- news media. Please understand that I will appeal each and every future determination of this kind.

Respectfully,
Shawn Musgrave

Hello,

Apologies for the delay in response. Answers to your inquiry below.

MuckRock posts all released documents on our website and do not charge for access. The requested documents will be provided to all who are interested in learning more about Department of Homeland Security Office of the Inspector General social media procedures.

As stated previously, we also write articles about the information we receive, many of which are picked up by other media outlets. I have already written about DHS social media procedures previously. See, for instance: https://www.muckrock.com/news/archives/2014/feb/18/dhs-vancouver-olympics-social-media/

Per the above, my primary interest in requesting these documents is journalistic in pursuit of a distinct work that applies my editorial skill to communicate matters of fundamental public interest to a wide audience.

-Shawn

To Whom It May Concern:

I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on Oct. 3, 2013. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed. You had assigned it reference number #2014-001 ; 2014-A05.

Thank you for your help.

To Whom It May Concern:

I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on Oct. 3, 2013. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed. You had assigned it reference number #2014-001 ; 2014-A05.

Thank you for your help.

To Whom It May Concern:

I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on Oct. 3, 2013. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed. You had assigned it reference number #2014-001 ; 2014-A05.

Thank you for your help.

To Whom It May Concern:

I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on Oct. 3, 2013. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed. You had assigned it reference number #2014-001 ; 2014-A05.

Thank you for your help.

To Whom It May Concern:

I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on Oct. 3, 2013. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed. You had assigned it reference number #2014-001 ; 2014-A05.

Thank you for your help.

To Whom It May Concern:

I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on Oct. 3, 2013. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed. You had assigned it reference number #2014-001 ; 2014-A05.

Thank you for your help.

To Whom It May Concern:

I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on Oct. 3, 2013. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed. You had assigned it reference number #2014-001 ; 2014-A05.

Thank you for your help.

Hello,

While I continue to protest DHS OIG's insistence on classifying me as a commercial requester despite my clear professional role as a journalist, I request a fee estimate for proceeding with the current request. I once again request a fee waiver in light not only of my sole interest in this information in order to convey it to the general public, but also in light of the public's clear interest in the social media habits of its taxpayer-funded government agencies.

Thank you.

Respectfully,
Shawn Musgrave
MuckRock