Appealing b(3) and b(4) redactions
Asked by Heather Akers-Healy on November 19, 2013.
1 answer from Shawn Musgrave.
I’d like to appeal the redactions on a response from the NSA but I’m not sure how to do it so that it will have a chance of success. They redacted all mentions on a contract that describe what the NSA purchased. Exemption 4 seems particularly sticky - how do I argue that the information doesn’t fall under the “confidential” or “trade secret” categories? https://muckrock.s3.amazonaws.com/foia_files/11-15-13_MR6699_RES.pdf
NSA requests are a tough breed – the Exemption 3 redactions are likely a lost cause in light of provisions in the National Security Agency Act that shield disclosure of NSA employee information and a broad category of other information.
Here’s the DOJ’s most recent guide to Exemption 4: http://www.justice.gov/oip/foia_guide09/exemption4.pdf
Depending on the nature of the services, I’d consider it a stretch to call the description of services a confidential trade secret. Anyone have a different read?