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Freedom of Information Act

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How to file a FOIA Request

FOIA Exemptions

The Freedom of Information Act also exempts certain information from its search and disclosure provisions:

Records detailing the actual conduct of intelligence operations. Under the nine specific exemptions in the FOIA, the CIA most commonly applies:

  • Exemption (b)(1): classified information under an Executive Order in the interest of national defense or foreign policy.
  • Exemption (b)(3): information concerning sources and methods to gather intelligence, including the facilities, organization, functions, names, officials titles, salaries, or numbers of personnel employed by the Agency.
  • Exemption (b)(6): information concerning other individuals--which, if released, would constitute an unwarranted invasion of their personal privacy.
  • Other Exemptions: (b)(2) protects internal rules and practices; (b)(4) applies to trade secrets and commercial or financial information obtained covertly; (b)(5) applies to inter- and intra-agency advisory memos; (b)(7) certain investigatory records.

For a more comprehensive treatment of Agency FOIA exemptions, see full text of FOIA, CIA Information Act of 1984, and explanation of exemptions.