# Freedom of Information Act **Entity class:** United States federal statute **Aliases:** FOIA **Maturity:** Developed ## Definition The **Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)** creates a right to request federal agency records, subject to exemptions and exclusions. In surveillance oversight, litigation often turns on privacy, law-enforcement technique, classified-information, and deliberative-process exemptions. ## Relationships - **used by:** [[wiki/Electronic Frontier Foundation|EFF]], [[wiki/American Civil Liberties Union|ACLU]], [[wiki/Electronic Privacy Information Center|EPIC]], journalists, researchers, and the public. - **applied to:** [[wiki/ICEPIC|ICEPIC]] and related information-sharing systems. - **distinct from:** [[wiki/Privacy Act of 1974|Privacy Act of 1974]]. ## Sources / Provenance - [U.S. Department of Justice — FOIA](https://www.foia.gov/)