Can I file an FOIA for data on myself? I looked at the faq relevant to the NSA and did not see a direct response. Possibly I missed it. I would be 100% willing to pay the fee, a reasonable fee for the documents and have it publicly listed on Muck.
I know it was suggest to avoid asking about other individuals. But, I am speaking about myself/direct family. Has anyone done this yet?
You can file, but anything that would be part of PRISM or another direct or indirect investigation would be exempt from disclosure, so you wouldn’t get anything back.
Jeff Larson very helpful blogged about exactly what you would get back — and why.
So: I wouldn’t recommend it, unless you’d like a rejection letter from the NSA as a souvenir.
A Glomar reply? Really? LOL(it is not funny)...... I mean this is about me, a person/citizen. A human - one with rights. The last time I remember being this floored by such a response was when E.P.I.C asked them(NSA) in what capacity they were working with Google, specific details about that relationship and why. While I disagree I can see why one might be inclined to offer such a response(Glomar) - Given what we know since then, I think it was 2010ish. No one in their right mind would want to admit to that type of relationship if they had the ‘legal’ opportunity to deny it.
That letter states they are not collecting anything other than metadata, under PRISM. There is reasonable chatter this might not be true. http://www.schneier.com/crypto-gram-1307.html, as example. There are also multiple other programs we learned about. Programs which might operate under other umbrellas.
Have there ever been times in the past where FOIA replies ‘accidentally’ gave false/incorrect information? Which were later proven to be false?
Except for my question in the last sentence. I realize any further discussion on this is outside the scope of this forum. I just felt the need to express the strange & uncomfortable feeling that link gave me. Last time I felt it was when watching a horror flick.. Ty for reading and the prompt reply.
There’s definitely been cases where there have been unintentionally false & misleading FOIA responses, and I’m sure, unfortunately, there have been purposefully false and misleading responses.
The FBI tried a few years ago to make that an official policy, but was told by the courts not too. Whether the punishment (attorney’s fees) is any actual deterrent is an exercise I’ll leave to the reader.